Page 8
May 08, 2024
Turning Points in History
Participation
Triples at the
Oregon History
Contest
Participation in Oregon History Day, the
statewide affiliate of the National History
Day program, tripled this year over 2023,
with 292 students from 12 schools com-
peting in this annual competition. Admin-
istered by the Oregon Historical Society
(OHS), the goal for the 2024 program was
to increase participation statewide, specifi-
cally among students in rural communities.
Students from 22 cities and towns across
Oregon took part, representing Mt. An-
gel, Independence, Hood River, Creswell,
Bend, Beaverton, Medford, and Portland.
The contest took place on Saturday,
April 13, at Willamette University in Sa-
lem, Oregon, and featured students who
worked individually or in small groups to
produce fascinating projects in the forms of
documentary films, websites, performanc-
es, exhibits, and papers. Creating projects
inspired by the annual theme, “Turning
Points in History,” these young historians
Nearly 300 students presented historical research projects at Willamette University
in Salem on the annual theme, “Turning Points in History.”
in grades 6–12 chose topics to explore and
proceeded to conduct historical research
and practice critical thinking skills as they
analyzed primary and secondary sourc-
es and considered diverse viewpoints and
bias present in these materials. The stu-
dent-selected topics ranged from the Ber-
lin Wall to the Partition of 1947 to Disney
animation to The Simpsons.
Oregon History Day cannot exist with-
out volunteer judges, who gathered with
the participants to evaluate projects, pro-
vide feedback to students, and reach con-
sensus on project rankings. Due to the huge
influx of students, judges stepped up to
evaluate one of the largest groups of proj-
ects ever at Oregon History Day. Judges
provide substantive feedback about the stu-
dents’ work, based on a rubric carefully de-
signed by National History Day. And, with
the top two projects in each category able
to qualify for the National Contest, judge
feedback is crucial for students’ revising
and improving their work before they are
compared against projects from across the
nation. Of the 153 projects considered, 31
qualified to advance to the National Con-
test, which will take place at the University
of Maryland, College Park, near Washing-
ton, D.C., from June 9–13.
“The energy from participating students
who showcased their work at the 2024 Or-
egon History Day event was incredible,”
said Chief Program Officer Eliza Canty-
Jones. “It was a powerful example of the
intelligence and care that young people
bring to their studies of history and of the
generosity of adult volunteers and educa-
tors in making the whole event possible.”
This year, OHS awarded prizes to out-
standing entries that best demonstrated su-
perior research and scholarship related to
the contributions, accomplishments, and
experiences of specific groups of people
in Oregon history. OHS awarded prizes to
projects focused on Black history in Ore-
gon and women’s history in Oregon as well
as maritime history from anywhere in the
world (sponsored by the Naval Order of
the United States) with each winner receiv-
ing a $100 prize.
Educators who are interested in bring-
ing Oregon History Day to their classroom
can contact OHS Education and Programs
Manager Katie Pearson at Katie.Pearson@
ohs.org for more information.