On Saturday, March 2, Connecticut History Day will hold its annual regional competition in Mansfield for middle schoolers and high schoolers to present historical research projects. Sponsored by the UConn History Department and UConn Early College Experience, the event will be held in McHugh Hall.
This year, students in the Mansfield area will present projects on the theme “Turning Points in History,” which can take the form of historical papers, websites, documentaries, exhibits and Performances. Each of the categories are judged separately and send their own students to the state competition on May 4, 2024.
If they emerge victorious in their given category at the state competition, Mansfield students will make their way to the University of Maryland for the 2024 National Contest, held from June 9-13. Last year, over $150,000 in scholarships were awarded to competition winners and over 100 won cash prizes with some numbering in the thousands.
In last year’s competition, nearly 46 students from Connecticut made it to the National Contest, including winning projects like “Operation Sunshine: How the Nautilus’s Crossing of the Polar Frontier Allowed America to Emerge from Sputnik’s Shadow” and “‘Hold on to the Land’: The Treaty of Hartford and its Eradication of Pequot Frontiers.”
UConn students are encouraged to volunteer to set up and judge at the event, says UConn History Department Head Mark Healey. “Any advanced undergraduate, graduate student, teacher, or faculty member can be a judge,” Healey said. “If you’re free for some or all of that time, and enjoy the infectious energy of kids … We’d love to have your help.”
Volunteers at Connecticut History Day will “help out with set up… directions, tech support, and general back-up,” and can choose from a variety of different shifts depending on what works with their own schedules according to Healey.
Judges are active in the History Day presentation process itself, working as part of a team to provide “fair and impartial review of student projects” in all five categories according to Connecticut History Day’s website.
The sign up for volunteers can be found here, while information at the judging process is located here. Judges are also welcome to sign up for the State Contest on Saturday, May 4 at Central Connecticut State University.