The Army Heritage Center Foundation is the sponsoring organization for National History Day in Pennsylvania (NHD in PA).

NHD engages students in grades 6-12 in the process of discovery and interpretation of historical topics. Students produce dramatic performances, imaginative exhibits, multimedia documentaries, web sites and papers based on research related to an annual theme. The 2010 theme is “Innovation in History: Impact and Change”. Individually or in teams of two to five, the students will research some sort of change that is the result of human ideas or actions and why that change is significant. Student projects are evaluated at local, regional, state, and national competitions.

Participants in the NHD program include:

• Students
• Teachers
• College and University Staff and Personnel in the Social Studies Field
• Staffs of Libraries, Museums, Members, and Archives
• Community Businessmen with an interest in education

Students celebrating National History Day.

The NHD program serves as a vehicle to teach students important literacy skills and to engage them in the use and understanding of museum and library resources. The program inspires students to study local, regional, or state history, and then challenges them to expand their thinking and apply that knowledge to the national or even worldwide scene. The program also teaches students to become technologically literate through the use of computer and Internet research methods, and the use of technologically advanced applications in their presentations.

Click here to read June 2009 press release about the state competition and a list of 2009 NHD in PA entrants. For more information about the state event link to www.pa.nhd.org or contact Jeff Hawks, Army Heritage Center Foundation Education Director and NHD in PA State Coordinator, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ; 717-258-1102.

For ways in which to support the program, click here.