Local students make history:
Metro Denver History Day doubles participation

By Katy Brown
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

April 4, 2007 - The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences' Department of History at the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center hosted the Metro Denver History Day competition for area public and private secondary schools on Saturday, Mar. 31 on the Auraria Campus. In its second year being hosted by the history department, the number of participants doubled with 65 entries total, representing over 100 students. Of those entries, the top four from each category will go on to compete at the state competition, which will be held in Boulder on the University of Colorado campus on Saturday, April 28.

History Senior Instructor Rebecca Hunt who coordinated this endeavor said that hosting this event was an important opportunity to provide "quality history education to the students who will, we hope, be our future students." She said that the dramatic increase in entries from last year resulted from partnering with Community College of Aurora and mentoring students from Rangeview High School. Rangeview qualified 35 students out their school's 100 competitors for this regional competition.

Categories included performance, documentaries, papers and exhibits on the theme of "Triumph and Tragedy in History." Students chose a topic, did extensive research and then produced their project. Entries were judged by teams of volunteers including history faculty, university staff, students and community members.

Abbey King, a student from Our Lady of Fatima Middle School in Lakewood, said that the best part of the event was the competition itself. She and her classmate Angie Fitzsimmons placed third in the Junior Group Exhibition.

"We are helping make history meaningful to young learners," Hunt said, and added that the department is "providing positive examples of the power of education."