History came alive for more than 80 students in grades 4 through 12 as they participated in the District 1 regional competition for National History Day, held Saturday, March 20, 2010 at the Memorial Union Building on the Michigan Tech campus. The competition is sponsored by the Michigan Tech Archives with financial support from the Michigan Tech Social Sciences Department.
Judges for the event were drawn from students, faculty, and staff in several campus departments, as well as representatives from museum and heritage organizations across the Copper Country. The event included a public showcase, with more than 300 parents, families, and members of the general public given a chance to learn from these young historians’ work.
The event operates similarly to other K12 competitions with some students qualifying to move on to the state and national levels of competition. Students participated in five categories (exhibit, website, documentary, performance and research paper) focusing on this year’s theme of “Innovation in History: Impact and Change.”
An article by Kurt Hauglie of The Daily Mining Gazette is online here.
Of the 42 competing entries, 27 were selected to progress to the state finals, to be held April 24 at The Henry Ford in Dearborn, and could continue to the National History Day competition June 13-17 at the University of Maryland.
Here are the student projects which qualified to proceed to the state competition (with a few images to illustrate the breadth and quality of the students’ work):
§ Megan Wells, “Walt Disney, the Innovator of Theme Parks” (Father Marquette Elementary, Marquette – Youth Division/Individual Exhibit)
§ Rachel Wells, “Kemmons Wilson: The Holiday Inn Story” (Father Marquette Middle School, Marquette – Junior Division/Website)
§ Katie Hiltunen, Alysha Narhi, Shirley Krogel, “Pasties: The Perfect Miner Food” (T.R. Davis Elementary, Dollar Bay – Junior Division/Website)
§ Elisha Houle, “The Cotton Gin: Expanding Cotton Production” (T.R. Davis Elementary, Dollar Bay – Junior Division/Individual Exhibit)
§ Jessica Marcotte, “Portage Lake Lift Bridge” (T.R. Davis Elementary, Dollar Bay – Junior Division/Individual Exhibit)
§ Ricky Greub, “American Automobiles: Past and Present (T.R. Davis Elementary, Dollar Bay – Junior Division/Individual Exhibit)
§ Ciarra Shelp, Carli Daavettila, “Basketball: From YMCA to Worldwide” (T.R. Davis Elementary, Dollar Bay – Junior Division/Group Exhibit)
§ Cecilia Burton, Mandy Maatta, “The Beatles” (Jeffers High School, Painesdale – Junior Division/Group Exhibit)
§ Mikayla Kyllonen, Kenny Maki, “Laser Surgery” (Jeffers High School, Painesdale – Junior Division/Group Exhibit)
§ Joshua Hendrickson, “The Refrigerator – “The Cool Way to Cool our Food” (Hancock High School – Senior Division/Research Paper)
§ Jodi Michael, “Barcodes: Scanning History” (Hancock High School – Senior Division/ Research Paper)
§ Lori Petrelius, “The Wonder Drug: The Downfall and Revival of Thalidomide” (Jeffers High School – Senior Division/Research Paper)
§ Jake Stratton, “Gyroscope: Changed History” (Hancock High School – Senior Division/Individual Performance)
§ Shelby Hill, Jessica Smith, Katrina Mills, Thea Balicki, “Fire Throughout History: Sparking Changes” (Hancock High School – Senior Division/Group Performance)
§ Dinah Bekkala, “Elias Howe and the Sewing Machine” (Hancock High School – Senior Division/Individual Documentary)
§ Jamie Dompier, Kaitlyn Hietala, “The Mackinac Bridge: Transporting Ideas, Culture and the People of Michigan,” (Chassell High School – Senior Division/Group Documentary)
§ Brett Hauswirth, Devin Kero, Zach Hill, “The World of Fast Food” (Hancock High School – Senior Division/Group Documentary)
§ Alissa Berg, Erin Raasakka, “Photographs: Snapping Through History” (Hancock High School – Senior Division/Group Documentary)
§ Ashley Laux, “Pony Express – Relay Across the West” (Chassell High School – Senior Division/Website)
§ Brianna Korpela, “United States Railroads: Reliance on the Rails” (Hancock High School – Senior Division/Website)
§ Ross Michaels, Daryl Usitalo, “BC Tools: Work Smarter, Not Harder” (Chassell High School – Senior Division/Website)
§ Erica LeClaire “A Woman’s Decision: The Innovation of Choice” (Dollar Bay High School – Senior Division/Individual Exhibit)
§ Kayla Marie Nuttall, “The Traffic Light: Making the Roads Safer” (Hancock High School – Senior Division/Individual Exhibit)
§ Kalle Markkanen, “The One-Man Drill: Rocking the History of Mining” (Houghton High School – Senior Division/Individual Exhibit)
§ Stephanie Dunstan, Angela Stites, “Penicillin: The Gateway Drug” (Hancock High School – Senior Division/Group Exhibit)
§ Kyle Kearly, Jordan Bierman, Dylan Meyer, “The Gatling Gun” (Hancock High School – Senior Division/Group Exhibit)
§ Brittany Puska, Hannah Rundman, “Fred Dakota: Gambling His Way Through History” (Jeffers High School – Senior Division/Group Exhibit)
District 1 is comprised of 12 counties in the Central and Western Upper Peninsula. The district competition is sponsored annually by the the Michigan Tech Social Sciences Department, the Michigan Tech Archives and Copper Country Historical Collections, the Quincy Mine Hoist Association and the Historical Society of Michigan.
For more information on National History Day, email District 1 coordinator Jane Nordberg at jlnordbe@mtu.edu or contact the Michigan Tech Archives at copper@mtu.edu