The Buffalo History Museum will receive $50,000 in state funding to support its sponsorship of local and regional competitions associated with National History Day, Assemblyman Bill Conrad announced.
Conrad – himself a former high school social studies teacher and member of the Assembly Committee on Education – said he secured the funds to offset the museum’s expenses for hosting students for the Buffalo Public Schools History Day and Western New York History Day contests, held Feb. 16 and March 9, respectively. Those costs include outreach, resources and the event-day logistics like transportation, refreshments and awards.
The yearlong programs are designed to encourage students to explore topics of local, state, national and world history by conducting research on a subject related to an annual theme, using libraries, archives, museums and oral interviews. Students then analyze and interpret what they learned, draw conclusions and create presentations that are entered into a series of competitions that rise from local to national levels.
This year’s theme is “Turning Points in History,” and students compete in five categories in either the junior division, for sixth through eighth grades, or the senior division, for high school. The categories are historical paper, exhibit, performance, website and documentary.
This is the first time that the Buffalo History Museum is hosting the regional contest, previously held at Canisius University, in partnership with the Niagara Frontier Council of Social Studies. At least 75 students from three counties are participating. Winners will go on to the New York State History Day Contest on April 14 at SUNY Oneonta, with state finalists proceeding to the National History Day Contest June 9 to 13, at the University of Maryland at College Park.
“As a former teacher for 20-plus years, I know how an understanding of history can solidify a student’s grasp of the challenges facing…
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