For the first time in years, students from Finger Lakes area schools will participate in regional and statewide competitions celebrating history.
Students in grades 6-12 from schools in Cayuga, Ontario, Seneca, Wayne, and Yates Counties will take part in Finger Lakes History Day this March. Finger Lakes History Day is part of National History Day which which is a yearlong education program to encourage students to explore local, state, and national history.
Kate Grindstaff is the Regional Coordinator for the Finger Lakes region, which is composed of Cayuga, Ontario, Seneca, Wayne, and Yates Counties. She told Finger Lakes News Radio that, for several years, the Finger Lakes region was the only region in the state not participating.
“For many years we had actually been the only region that didn’t have students participating in the whole state, so it’s really exciting to bring that back.”
In September, Grindstaff began reaching out to schools to allow ample time for students, and in some cases entire classes, to develop their projects. For the competition, she said students pick an historical research theme related to the national theme – “Rights and Responsibilities in History” for this year – then spend months researching their theme to create a project to be judged at the regional competition.
“They go to libraries, museums, archives… and then, after they interpret what they found, they have to create a project that will be judged in the actual contest event.”
Grindstaff said the projects can be anything from a paper or document to a website, performance, or exhibit.
On March 15, students from across the Finger Lakes will gather at the PERC (Case Mansion) in Auburn to have their projects judged by a panel composed of local historians and teachers from the area. The top two rated projects in each category will then move on to the state competition slated for late April at SUNY Oneonta.
Grindstaff added that students will have the opportunity to revise their projects between the local and state contests based on feedback from regional judges.
While Grindstaff is excited that the five-county region is once again participating, she hopes to expand participation to include more students and schools within the region. If any students, school officials, or teachers are interested in participating in next year’s competition, they are encouraged to contact Grindstaff at [email protected].
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