Fresno County History Day 2012

Fresno County Office of Education held the 29th annual Fresno County History Day on March 17th, 2012 at Fresno Pacific University. More than 350 students presented exhibits, 2-dimensional displays, documentaries, websites and historical papers. In creating History Day projects students worked as historians-researching their topic and creating their own conclusion(s) about the importance of their topic in history. Some of the diverse topics studied this year include: child labor laws, soda pop, free agency rules in baseball, John Brown’s revolt, gunpowder, Title IX, the 13th amendment, Gandhi’s peaceful revolution, and the Kodak camera, to name a few.

Since its inception in 1974, National History Day has become the venue for students to experience this academic subject in fun and exciting ways. California’s 4th through 12th grade students engage in research, analyze their findings, and gain new insights that are shared using a variety of media. Through participation in History Day, students learn critical thinking, problem-solving, research, reading, oral communication, written communication, and presentation skills. Students not only explore events in the course of history, but also ask why these events occurred. History Day shows students that history is not just about the names and dates of people and events from 200 years ago, but about the stories that happen every day in communities around the world.

We are grateful not only to the student entrants, but also to the advisors, parents, judges, support staff, and other volunteers whose coordinated effort brings Fresno County History Day to life. The champion students will go on to participate in the National History Day-California Finals April 27-29th in Riverside.