Iowa Students Advance to Finals of National History Day Contest

Photos courtesy of Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs

By Nikoel Hytrek

May 31, 2023

For a whole school year, almost 500 Iowa students, worked—either in teams or individually—on projects to dig into the theme “Frontiers in History: People, Places, Ideas.”

Of the 500, 62 students from 18 different schools took top honors in the contest.

In June, those 62 students will travel to Maryland to compete in the National History Day Contest, pitting their projects against 3,000 other students from around the world.

Their projects came out in formats which included documentaries, websites, performances, papers, and traditional exhibits. There were also special categories: agricultural and rural history, labor history, African American history, history about the Holocaust, women’s history and military history.

The program and research starts at the beginning of the school year, and students do high-level research on the subject they choose—digging into archival libraries to find a variety of sources. Students even get the opportunity to use the libraries at the State Historical Archives and Iowa History Research Centers in Des Moines and Iowa City.

In addition to learning about history, students also develop their research, literacy and critical thinking skills through the project. By the end, they learn how to present and communicate to wide audiences.

Students can participate as young as fourth grade, though the program isn’t competitive until the 6-8 grade junior division.

More photos can be found here.

The National History Day Iowa program has been happening for almost 30 years and it’s coordinated through the State Historical Society of Iowa. It’s sponsored by State Historical Society, Inc., National Endowment for the Humanities and Bravo Greater Des Moines.

The students came from these 18 schools:

Abraham Lincoln High School
Akron-Westfield Middle School
Bettendorf Middle School
Carroll High School
Clarinda High School
Decorah Community Schools Homeschool Assistance Program
Decorah Middle School
Franklin Middle School
Gerald W. Kirn Middle School
Harding Middle School
Johnston Middle School
Lewis Central Senior High School
Marshalltown High School
Nashua-Plainfield Junior-Senior High School
North Scott Senior High School
St. Benedict School
Storm Lake High School
Unity Christian High School

Nikoel Hytrek
5/31/23

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Nikoel Hytrek

Nikoel Hytrek is Iowa Starting Line’s longest-serving reporter. She covers LGBTQ issues, abortion rights and all topics of interest to Iowans. Her biggest goal is to help connect the dots between policy and people’s real lives. If you have story ideas or tips, send them over to [email protected].

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