Celebrate Vermont History Day on April 5th!

Each year, the Vermont Historical Society administers Vermont History Day, an educational competition for middle and high school aged students to present their work and earn a chance to compete at the National History Day contest. This year, more than 300 students from throughout the state will compete at this year’s contest, which will be held at St. Michael’s College in Colchester on April 5th, from 10:00AM-4:00PM.

Vermont History Day is coordinated by VHS and is an exciting educational program that encourages students to develop research and critical thinking skills through the study of history. Affiliated with National History Day (NHD), the program is open to Vermont students in grades five through twelve and home study students ages ten to eighteen.  

National History Day poses a new theme each year to challenge students to frame and explore some aspect of a historical topic. This year’s theme is titled “Rights & Responsibilities in History.” Participating students in grades 5 through 12 and homeschool students ages 10 to 18 can enter a project in one of five categories: documentary, exhibit, paper, performance, or website.  

These students will compete for prizes in a range of categories for each type of presentation, with the top two in each category qualifying to participate in the National History Day competition that will be held in June at University of Maryland College Park. Students will also earn prizes in a range of special categories. The winners will be announced after the completion of VHD.

You can find details at our website. 

VHS is also celebrating Vermont History Day on April 5th at the Vermont History Museum with admission by donation. Visitors to the museum can check out the following special exhibits:

• Rockingham's Acropolis, about the Rockingham Meeting House, in the Local History Gallery
• Oren W. Hills, Photographer, a showcase of photographs uncovered from the Vermont Historical Society's Leahy Library, in the Calder Gallery
• Francis Colburn: From the Collection of the Vermont Historical Society, a showcase of the career of the Vermont artist in the National Life Gallery

Visitors can also check out the following permanent exhibits:

• Freedom & Unity, a chronological overview of Vermont's history
• Lady of the Hills, a display of artifacts and tools used to create the State House's Ceres statue
• The Snelling Room Gallery, a series of portraits and artwork from throughout Vermont's history