National History Day 2024

National History Day (NHD) is an initiative that engages nearly half a million students across the country and is a cornerstone of Peck’s history programming. NHD’s core program is a competition that prompts students in grades 6-12 to conduct extensive research on their chosen topic and present their findings in a series of contest levels judged by educators and professional historians. All projects were thoroughly researched, written, designed, and constructed to prove a student-composed thesis statement.

Projects ranged from The Discovery of Penicillin to Kathrine Switzer: A Turning Point in Marathon Running and everything in between. After choosing a pivotal moment in history to deeply research earlier this year, students demonstrated their knowledge through expo-style displays, talking points, and discussions with peers and parents. Sixth graders designed and built physical exhibits, seventh graders completed websites, and eighth graders completed a project in the category of their choosing (exhibit, website, documentary, research paper, performance, etc.)

The first round of judging happens at Peck, with a cohort of teachers reviewing work according to NHD criteria. This year, 22 projects (composed of 30 students) are eligible to move onto the regional competition held at Monmouth University on Saturday, March 2 where they will be judged by an independent panel of historians and educators. The projects selected to advance to the regional round are: