UMaine hosting hundreds of budding historians for National History Day competition

Hundreds of middle and high school students will gather at the University of Maine to compete in the statewide National History Day competition at 10 a.m. on May 3 at various locations across campus. 

Judges working within the field of humanities from across Maine will review history research exhibits, performances, websites, documentaries and papers from over 300 participants. Most students will present their projects in Wells Central, and others will showcase their work at Fogler Library, the Memorial Union and Stevens Hall. 

This year, the theme of the contest is “Rights and Responsibilities in History.” Winners of the statewide competition will participate in the week-long national contest in June at the University of Maryland, competing against students from across the world.

National History Day was founded at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio in 1974. Since then, the contest has expanded to all 50 states and the U.S. Territories, as well as to other countries, such as China and South Korea. Maine has been involved with NHD since 1984, and the statewide competition has been hosted by UMaine every year since 2014.

The Margaret Chase Smith Library has run the competition since 2014, with John Taylor, the library’s museum assistant and communications manager, serving as coordinator. Liam Riordan, Adelaide and Alan Bird Professor of History at UMaine, and Mark McLaughlin, associate professor of history and Canadian studies, are helping Taylor organize the program, with additional support provided by Emily Haddad, dean of UMaine’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Other contributors include Nicole Rancourt and Harper Batsford from the Maine Humanities Council, with monetary support from the Maine Masonic College. 

Since the Margaret Chase Smith Library took it over, National History Day activities in Maine have expanded with more school- and regional-level contests, the winners of which move on to compete in the statewide event. Maine has also had a winner at the national competition every year since 2014 except in 2020, when participation dropped due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Maine students have won in the individual exhibit, performance and group documentary categories, as well as achieved special awards in baseball, naval history, and women’s history. One student, Madison Albert from Greely Middle School, won the women’s history award two years in a row, an unprecedented accomplishment.

During their downtime at the competition, participants often explore campus, including through a scavenger hunt that brings them to different departments and cultural institutions at UMaine. 

“Sometimes this is the first or only campus they get to see. They’re spending a day there and getting to see the layout of campus, what it’s like to walk around campus, the food situation,” said Taylor, “it’s a good way to have more than 300 students come on campus who are potential future students at UMaine.”

Story by research communications intern Emma Beauregard.