WASHINGTON - The National Museum of Health and Medicine recently welcomed three teenagers who competed nationally against more than half a million middle and high school students in the 22nd Annual National History Day (NHD) competition. They and their families assisted with the installation of their projects as temporary exhibits that will be displayed at the museum through Sept. 30.
"As the students of today become America's thinkers and leaders of tomorrow, then I think we're in store for some wonderful discoveries," said Jim Connor, Ph.D., the museum's assistant director for collections. "It is specially rewarding to be able to meet and get to know such fine young researchers."
NHD is a year-long program for students in the 6-12th grades to work throughout the school year individually or as a group to research a topic of their choice and create a corresponding exhibit, paper, performance or documentary. More than 700,000 students worked to convey the contest theme, "Frontiers in History: People, Places, Ideas."
Projects were judged at local and state levels for historical quality, clarity of presentation, and adherence to theme. About 2,000 students were recognized and invited to the national competition held at The University of Maryland, College Park.
Skye Montgomery, a 14 year old from Cedar City, Utah, spent more than eight months on her exhibit, "Civil War Battlefield Medicine." Replicas of medical instruments, fact sheets, and photographs of amputation victims were used to illustrate how bacterial diseases claimed the lives of many soldiers before the practice of sterilization was adopted. Her project also chronicles the surgical techniques of battlefield medicine, the introduction of new medical instruments, and female nurses.
"I was disappointed that others from my school did not win, but glad I was selected," Skye said. "It worked out well, because I was able to meet others from across the country interested in history."
High school honor students Jordan Hathaway and Chris Hynes of Upland, Calif. worked as a team to research and construct their exhibit, "Watson and Crick's Double Helix: A Frontier in Modern Science." Their project traces the progression of DNA research and highlights the work of James Watson and Francis Crick. Their project points out the many uses of DNA research, such as forensics, cloning, and the ethics behind DNA mapping and storing.
Each school has different rules for NHD entry and selection, and although only freshman and sophomores in the Upland High School honors program are required to enter the competition, this pair chose to enter during their junior year also.
"I decided to enter again because it was fun, and Chris and I wanted to return to Nationals and win this year," said Hathaway. "National History Day is a great way to learn about history in every aspect," added Chris Hynes.
While other school-age visitors to Washington, D.C. were touring the area, Montgomery, Hathaway and Hynes presented their projects to the museum staff and following a question and answer session were taken on a behind-the-scenes tour of the museum.
This yearly event allows students to explore history from a variety of viewpoints. Entrants completed projects pertaining to science, civics, American history world history and much more.
