Iowa State University. Dept. of History.

National History Day is a competition in which students in grades 6-12 select a topic in history and construct projects in one of five categories: documentary, exhibit, paper, performance, or website. Over 600,000 students compete annually at local, regional, and state contests and at the national competition held at the University of Maryland.

The History Day program began in 1974 at Case Western Reserve University. By 1979, the contest had spread to the rest of Ohio, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, and the Chicago metro area, and the first national contest was held in Ohio. The program continued to spread to other states and took on the name National History Day.

The mission of National History Day is to provide students with opportunities to learn historical content and develop research, thinking, and communication skills through the study of history and to provide educators with resources and training to enhance classroom teaching.

Clair Keller, professor of early American history and social studies methods at Iowa State University, served as state coordinator from the program's inception in Iowa in 1979 through the transfer of the program to the State Historical Society of Iowa in 1993-1994. Keller was in charge of the program in Iowa, overseeing the district coordinators and organizing the state contest, held annually at Iowa State University. He also planned and chaperoned the annual trip to the historical sites of Gettysburg, PA; Washington, D.C.; and several sites in Virginia for Iowa students advancing to the national competition at the University of Maryland.