Kentucky Historical Society
District Kentucky History Day Competitions to Begin in March

FRANKFORT, Ky. (Feb. 8, 2010)—District competitions for Kentucky History Day (KHD), a program affiliated with National History Day and presented by the Kentucky Historical Society (KHS), are set to begin in March at designated areas across the state.

KHD, an educational program for students in grades 4-12, gives participants an opportunity to conduct historical research using primary and secondary resources, use that research to develop projects based on a theme and compete with their peers at district—and possibly state and national—levels. KHD is operated through the Kentucky Junior Historical Society, a KHS outreach program that encourages young people to take an active interest in the Commonwealth’s history. This year’s contest theme is Innovation in History: Impact and Change.

Students compete in three divisions—the youth division, which includes grades 4-5; the junior division, which includes grades 6-8; and the senior division, which includes grades 9-12.  Participants may work individually or in groups of up to five students.

Categories for junior and senior students include papers, exhibits, performances, documentaries or Web sites. Youth division participants may create in exhibit and documentary categories, and will bypass the district competitions and compete only at the state level.

Junior and senior division participants must compete in their respective district competitions and the top three entries in each category and division are eligible to compete at the state contest in Frankfort in May.  The top two entries in each category and division at the state level are eligible to compete in the National History Day contest in June at the University of Maryland in College Park.

The schedule of district competitions is as follows:
• Districts 1 & 2: Kentucky Wesleyan College, Owensboro, March 13;
• District 3: Frazier International History Museum, Louisville, March 27;
• District 4: Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, March 20;
• District 5: Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, March 20;
• District 6: Georgetown College, Georgetown, March 6;
• District 7: Morehead State University, Morehead, Feb. 27; and
• District 8: Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College, Cumberland, March 26.

To find out more information about Kentucky History Day, including past winners and a district map, click here or contact Tim Talbott at Tim.Talbott@ky.gov.

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An agency of the Kentucky Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet, the Kentucky Historical Society, established in 1836, is committed to helping people understand, cherish and share Kentucky's history. The KHS history campus includes The Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History, Old State Capitol and Kentucky Military History Museum at the Old State Arsenal. For more information about the Kentucky Historical Society and its programs, visit the Web site at www.history.ky.gov.