RECORD CROWD AT 2007 Michigan HISTORY DAY STATE FINALS

Editor’s Note: A full list of winners and photos can be found at http://www.hsmichigan.org/mhd.php.  Students from the following communities were awarded:  Ada, Ann Arbor, Bay County, Beverly Hills, Canton, Comstock Park, Eaton Rapids, Grand Rapids, Grant, Hancock, Hastings, Holland, Kalamazoo, Marquette, Painesdale, Plymouth, South Haven, West Bloomfield and Whitehall.

Over six hundred people were present as Michigan students received top honors at the Michigan History Day (National History Day in Michigan) State Finals on Saturday, April 28th in Dearborn at the Henry Ford. 

This year more than 5,000 students competed in the History Day program in Michigan.  Of these over 210 students reached the state finals, representing schools from all across the state.  Finalists chosen at the state finals in the Junior and Senior categories now head to College Park, Maryland in June to compete in National History Day with their peers from the other forty-nine states and several US territories.

Michigan History Day is an educational program of the Historical Society of Michigan and hosted this year by the Henry Ford.   Lead sponsors include Meijer Inc., the Cook Charitable Foundation, the Richard and Helen DeVos Foundation, and Alticor, Inc.   In addition support was also provided by the Holland Area Historical Society, the Michigan Chapter of the Society for the War of 1812, and the membership of the Historical Society of Michigan.

“Each year the competition is growing as more teachers and students find out about this exciting opportunity” commented Larry J. Wagenaar, Executive Director of the Historical Society of Michigan.  “Students a experts for the day to share what they have learned.  They actively engaged our judges.  History Day is hands-on education with students gaining phenomenal new skills.”

Winners at the National History Day Michigan State Finals included students from Ada, Ann Arbor, Bay County, Beverly Hills, Canton, Comstock Park, Eaton Raids, Grand Rapids, Grant, Hancock, Hastings, Holland, Kalamazoo, Marquette, Painesdale, Plymouth, South Haven, West Bloomfield and Whitehall.

Students in grades 4-12 competed in Allendale representing outstanding entries from each of ten districts throughout Michigan.  Entries were in seven categories - Individual Paper, Individual Exhibit, Individual Documentary, Individual Performance, Group Exhibit, Group Documentary and Group Performance.  Students compete in Youth, Junior or Senior divisions.

All entries in the competition were tied in some way to the National History Day theme for 2007, Triumph and Tragedy in History.

A full list of winners plus photographs from the state finals competition can be found at the Michigan History Day website (http://www.hsmichigan.org/mhd.php) or by calling the Historical Society of Michigan at (800) 692-1828.

Michigan History Day is an educational program of the Historical Society of Michigan, the state’s oldest cultural organization, founded in 1828.  For more information contact the Society at 1305 Abbott Rd., East Lansing, MI 48823 (517) 324-1828 or visit www.hsmichigan.org.