Press

ALBANY, NY – Fifty-five middle and high school students from throughout the Capital District won top prizes in the Capital Region History Day Contest at the New York State Museum on Saturday, March 29th and will advance to the state competition in Cooperstown on May 2.

The contest attracted 170 students from schools in Albany, Clifton Park, Delmar, South Colonie, Guilderland, Voorheesville, Troy, and Granville. They competed in the preliminary regional competition of the National History Day Contest. The national theme for this year’s competition is “Conflict and Compromise in History.”

After working on their entries for many months, competitors qualified for the regional contest by doing well at contests held at individual schools throughout the area. Winners at the regional level received gold, silver and bronze medals.

The New York State Archive Partnership Trust presented a special award for outstanding use of primary source materials and use of historical documents to Sarah Aronson and Jessica Fiore from Bethlehem Central High School. They won for their documentary movie, “We Shall Breathe the Air Again: Prisoners of War in the Civil War.” The judges were impressed with the quality of the production and the research that was involved in making the movie.

“History Day is a natural fit for the New York State Learning Standards.” said John Buchinger, associate director of education at the New York State Historical Association in Cooperstown. “Students can create projects based on historical subjects that range from state and local, to national and international topics. History Day encourages the retention of the information more than ‘traditional’ methods because students go beyond the classroom texts to explore academic thought on their topic.”

National History Day in the nation’s leading program for history education in the schools. The program annually engages 2 million people in 48 states, the District of Columbia and Guam. Students research history topics of their choice related to an annual theme and create exhibits, documentaries, performances, research papers and, for the first time this year, website designs. They may enter in competition at the regional, state and national level. Participants include students in grades 6-8 in the Junior Division and grades 9-12 in the Senior Division. National History Day also provides educational services to students and teachers, including a summer internship program, curricular materials, internet resources and annual teacher workshops and training institutes. The Capital Region History Day committee hosted a daylong teacher workshop at the State Museum last fall.

Further information on the state History Day contest is available at www.nyshistoryday.org/Contest.htm. Winners of the state contest will go on to compete in the national contest, June 15-19 at the University of Maryland www.nationalhistoryday.org/NationalContest.htm

Information on the 2009 Capital Region History Day Contest can be obtained by contacting Patricia Jordan, the State Museum’s director of community relations, pjordan@mail.nysed.gov518-474-4458.

The New York State Museum is a cultural program of the New York State Department of Education. Started in 1836, the museum has the longest continuously operating state natural history research and collection survey in the United States. The state museum is located on Madison Avenue in Albany. It is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Admission is free. Further information about programs and events can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the museum website at www.nysm.nysed.gov.

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