NATIONAL MUSEUM OF HEALTH AND MEDICINE HOSTS 25th ANNUAL NATIONAL HISTORY DAY

The works of four young historians, which included two exhibits and one documentary focusing on history as it relates to health and medicine, are now on display at the National Museum of Health and Medicine. The projects were created for the 25th annual National History Day (NHD), a national competition of more than 700,000 students in grades 6-12. This year, students competed to convey the theme "Rights and Responsibilities in History."

After researching and designing their projects, students competed at multiple levels. The entries were judged at the local and state levels for historical quality, clarity of presentation, and adherence to the theme. Finally, about 2,100 students were invited to compete at the national level at the University of Maryland, College Park. Only six of these students were chosen to present their work at the museum, two of which presented a joint project.

Of the five projects selected for presentation at the museum, subject matter and presentation style varied widely.

Jeralyn Westercamp, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, focused on an individual's rights and the American government's responsibilities in terms of medical care. Her exhibit, "Piecing Together Truth: The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment," explores the history of governmental medical experimentation on its citizenry. It is now on display in the lobby of the museum.

"When I was trying to decide on a topic, my grandmother asked me why I didn't write on the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment," Westercamp said. "When she said that, I realized I knew nothing about it, and wanted to learn more. The further I got into my research, the more interesting it became. I couldn't believe that the American government would do something like knowingly infect its own people with syphilis. What made it more interesting is that my grandmother was one of the first people to give penicillin shots, the cure to syphilis, during World War II."

Elisabeth Howell-Little of Madison, Wis. took a different approach with her research. She examined the historical, medical, political, and social importance of medics in the Armed Forces in "I Don't Need a Gun to Serve My Country: The Rights and Responsibilities of the Conscientious Objector Medic in the Vietnam War." She also presented her project as an exhibit, which is also on display at the museum.

"My father was a conscientious objector medic in the Vietnam War, and I never really knew much about what he did. I started to talk with him and he explained his experiences to me. As a result, I spent months researching the war and the role that conscientious objector medics played in it. I found that the most interesting part was actually interviewing former medics like my father. I am most definitely going to participate in the National History Day competition next year, I thought it was a very good experience for me and seeing the other student's projects was extremely interesting."

Austin Glasmer and Ernesto Reyes of Houston decided to present their joint project in a different format than the other participants. They created a documentary, "To Inoculate or Not to Inoculate," showing the history and medicinal value of immunization.

"We were really interested in diseases," Glasmer said. "We wanted to somehow link that subject with the theme of the program. After we began our research in August of 2002, we found that the event that could be a bridge between the theme and our topic was George Washington's decision to inoculate his troops against small pox. This decision, we argued, really saved Washington and his men."

Glasmer and Reyes decided that the easiest and most "informative" format in which to present their research was a multi-media documentary, which they spent months creating.

"The documentary expressed what we were trying to say better than an exhibit would have," said Reyes. "The freedom we had in choosing a presentation style was one of the best parts of National History Day. Participating in the competition and getting the opportunity to present at the museum is something that I feel was really worthwhile. I learned so much and now can share that knowledge and share it with others."

This documentary is now available for viewing in the museum's classroom.

The two remaining students presented their projects with artistic performances, and are therefore not on display. Washington D.C. resident Lalia Parada-Worby, who could not be reached for comment, animated her research with a performance called "The Jane Collective: The Illegal Underground Feminist Abortion Service."

Likewise, Kara Miller of Denver, Colo. explored the historically-changing definition of insanity in her performance, "Dorothea Dix: Working for the Rights of the Mad."

"I chose my topic because I am very interested in the history of how society views insanity," said Miller, a third-time participant. "I enjoyed the competition and visiting the museum so much. For me, a performance is what I enjoy, but the documentaries and exhibits were incredibly interesting. I will definitely participate in National History Day in the coming years."

In addition to the project presentations, students toured the museum and the neurological collection, had lunch, and received awards from Adrianne Noe, Ph.D., the museum's director. Noe presented each student with a plaque in recognition of their extensive research and accomplishment.

National History Day is a year-long, non-profit educational program dedicated to improving the teaching and learning of history in elementary and secondary schools. The NHD student competition is the nation's oldest and most highly regarded humanities contest.

Students participating in the NHD contest choose their own topics of study related to an annual theme and conduct extensive research. They can produce museum-type exhibits, multimedia documentaries, original performances, or traditional research papers. The topic for the 2003-2004 program will be "Exploration, Encounter, and Exchange in History."

The National Museum of Health and Medicine, founded as the Army Medical Museum in 1862 to study and improve medical conditions during the American Civil War, is an element of the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology. Its specimens and artifacts were the first museum collection in the country and are currently the only in Washington, D.C. to be registered by the U.S. Department of the Interior as a National Historic Landmark. The Secretary of the Interior, who has designated only 2,340 districts, sites, buildings, and structures for listing in the National Register, selected the museum's collection because of its "exceptional value in commemorating and illustrating the history of the United States."

Open every day except Dec. 25 from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., the museum is located at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, 6900 Georgia Ave. and Elder Street, NW, Washington, D.C. The website is www.nmhm.washingtondc.museum and the telephone number is 202-782-2200. Admission and parking are free.