GVSU hosting Michigan History Day regional contest

More than 150 West Michigan students will showcase their research in creative and engaging formats during the Michigan History Day Western Regional Contest being held at Grand Valley State University. The March 21 event will be held from 9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. in the Kirkhof Center on the Allendale Campus.

During the event that Grand Valley has hosted for the past 30 years, middle and high school students will present their findings from self-directed research on individually chosen topics. Those in attendance can expect to see presentations rooted in art, literature, music, drama, visual communications and writing, all following the common theme of “Leadership and Legacy in History.”

Entrants will present in one of five categories: individual paper, individual or group exhibit, documentary, websites, and performances. Faculty and graduates from the Grand Valley History Department, as well as local educators and historians, will judge the presentations.

The top three entries in each division and category will advance to the state contest April 25 in DeWitt.

Regardless of who wins, Sean O’Neil, professor of history at Grand Valley, said the ultimate goal of the contest is to teach students how to conduct historical research and present their work to the public.

“Students benefit from participating even if they do not advance in the contest because they look at the history they learn in school in a different, more informed and sophisticated way,” O’Neil said. “When these students go to college, they take with them experience working with primary sources, researching in libraries and archives, interviewing historians and historical actors.”

For more information, contact O’Neil at (616) 331-3325.