Louisiana History Day State Contest Approaching

On April 21, The National WWII Museum will host the Louisiana History Day State Contest. In this competition, students from across Louisiana will compete to advance to the National History Day Contest held at the University of Maryland. Middle and high school students compete in one of five different categories: research paper, exhibit, performance, documentary, and web site. Judging panels will review the students’ work and conduct interviews before determining the top 2 entries in each category for advancement to the National Contest.

In addition to the students who competed in the New Orleans Regional last month, students from Regional Contests in Monroe, Baton Rouge, and Shreveport will be hoping for a spot in the National Contest. Below is a recap of each Regional Contest.

Monroe

The Monroe Regional took place at the Chennault Aviation & Military Museum on March 17. Outstanding entries went to Sarah Elliot for her paper, “World War II: Children Who Survived the Holocaust” and to Shalona Forest for her exhibit “The Story of Oskar Schindler.”

In the days leading up to the contest, Sarah had to trim her paper from more than 3,000 words to meet the History Day limit of 2,500 words. She found the editing to be “useful in the future for college and career” prospects.

Shalona was unsure about participating at first, but she is learning the power of studying history. She isn’t concerned with winning at the State Contest, but, she is serious about improving her project while still having fun with her first visit to The National WWII Museum.

Baton Rouge

The West Baton Rouge Museum in Port Allen hosted their first Baton Rouge Regional Contest on March 24. Students there displayed some very creative projects.

 James Hogg, a sixth grade student from Ascension Parish got the contest started with a great performance called “My 1863 Adventure.” Judges confirmed James’ “major stage presence” as he spoke, sang, and played the violin while reporting on Louisiana’s condition in 1863.

A documentary on the Dust Bowl by Hailey Reaux and Peyton Richard also wowed the judges. It had a very strong connection to the theme of Revolution, Reaction, Reform in History and displayed strong editing and narration.

Shreveport

At the Shreveport Contest at the Louisiana State Exhibit Museum, a very strong exhibit by Mollye Shacklette called “Change Without Transition: Rise of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia” astounded the judges. It was meticulously laid out and showed great skill at displaying the context of the Khmer Rouge. Judges commented on Mollye’s skill at laying out the significance of the event in her exhibit.  

All projects will be on display at The National WWII Museum on April 21. Documentaries and performances will be open to the public and will run from 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Exhibits will be open to the public from 12:30 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.

A few spots are available on the judging panels for the contest, you can find out more about judging by contacting Nathan Huegen at historyday@nationalww2museum.org or 504-528-1944, ext. 350.

One Response to “Louisiana History Day State Contest Approaching”

Jarrett Reeves says:

Thanks, Nathan. I am going to forward to a couple of folks to whet appetites for next year.

Jarrett

April 17, 2012 at 10:28 am

Reply