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SAVE THE DATE: SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2025

SNOW DATE: Saturday, March 1, 2025

WELCOME

ENGAGING STUDENTS AND TEACHERS IN HISTORICAL RESEARCH & SKILLS DEVELOPMENT

REGISTRATION FOR 2025 CARROLL COUNTY HISTORY DAY

Registration is open to all students in Carroll County grades 6th though 12.

Registration Deadline: December 20th, 2024

National History Day®

TBD: National History Day
TBD - Registration closes for NHD
University of Maryland

Maryland History Day

May 3, 2025 Maryland History Day
April 2, 2025: Registration closes for Maryland History Day
April 9, 2025: Projects due for Maryland History Day
UMBC

Carroll County History Day

Saturday, February 22, 2025: Carroll County History Day

Learn more about National History Day

Carroll County History Day and

History Expo Pictures

NATIONAL HISTORY DAY

National History Day® is a nationwide program held annually that involves more than half a million students. It provides an excellent opportunity to develop primary and secondary research skills. Students choose a historical topic related to that year’s specific theme, which is "Debate and Diplomacy in History." Students develop a thesis, and thorough analysis of sources, draw conclusions about the significance of their selected topic. Presentations may take the form of a paper, exhibit, performance, documentary, or a web site.

There are two levels (or divisions) of participation. “Junior” is for grades 6 – 8 and “Senior” is grades 9 – 12. Students can work in groups. Some written materials are required for all project categories. Information about this can be found in the contest’s Rule Book.

In addition to the National History Day®, there are local and state History Days. Carroll County students will participate in Carroll County’s History Day on March 5, 2022. Students who win at the county competition will move up to Maryland History Day. Those moving up to the next level will compete at the National History Day.

MARYLAND HISTORY DAY

For middle and high school students who participate, Maryland History Day sparks critical thinking, and helps develop skills in research and analysis, writing, and public speaking.

Working solo or in small groups, students create original documentaries, exhibits, performances, research papers or websites exploring a breadth of historical topics within an annual theme. Students progress through competitions at the school, district, state, and national levels. Students from public, private, parochial, home, and cyber schools are welcome to participate. District contests are held throughout Maryland every February and March.

For more information visit National History Day®

2025 Theme

Theme Resources

Rights and Responsibilities in History

During the 2024–2025 school year, National History Day® (NHD) invites students to research topics related to the theme, Rights and Responsibilities in History. This year’s theme invites you to consider questions of time and place, cause and effect, change over time, and impact and significance. The key to this theme is addressing BOTH rights AND responsibilities. These are two powerful forces in history, but one does not work without the other.

What are rights? Are responsibilities always attached to rights? Are there times when rights protect some while disenfranchising others—and is that fair? Do we have economic rights? Are civil rights upheld at the same level for everyone in the United States? What are our rights as global citizens? And what about animal rights—do humans bear responsibility for non-humans? These are just a few questions you might ask as you begin your research.

2025 NHD Theme Handbook

2025 NHD Theme Video

For more information visit National History Day

Carroll County History Day Competition

FEBRUARY 22, 2025

Event Details:

Carroll County History day consists of student exhibits and presentations of their research and projects based on the theme for that given year. Attendees have the opportunity to interact with the students to learn more about their topics. During the event the winners of each junior and senior project category will be announced and receive awards. Students will also have the opportunity to win local awards and cash prizes from our community partners if their project aligns and meets the requirements for the local award.

The event also includes a History Expo with presentations and exhibitors from Celebrating America partner organizations. Celebrating America is a local collaboration of historical societies and organizations within Carroll County. The organization's goal is to foster a greater sense and understanding of America's history and Carroll County's important role in that history in order to present accurate and complete historical information, to promote activities and encourage increased public participation in and celebration of holidays and other significant people or events, and to develop and implement strategies recognizing Carroll County as being at the "Center of History".

Projects will be judged virtually by Teachers, Public Librarians, Carroll County Officials prior to or during the event.
All participating students are encouraged to participate in displaying and sharing their research at the Carroll County History Day event.
Top 2 winners in each category will be recognized and the winners of the local awards (see below) at the Carroll County History Day event.
Top 2 winners in each category can enter their project in the State Competition to be held on May 3, 2025.
Top 2 winners at the Maryland Competition entered in the National History Day Competition (Will be held in June of 2025).

NATIONAL HISTORY DAY LOCAL AWARDS 2024

1. Carroll County Commissioners One $50.00 gift card given in each division

For entries, whose research and presentation celebrates the contributions of a local individual, group, or organization or encourages a greater understanding of American history and historically significant people, events, and places, particularly those within Carroll County and/or the State of Maryland.

2. Carroll County Farm Museum One $50.00 gift card given in each division

Recognizes a high school project and a middle school project which highlights the historic importance of agriculture in Carroll County and the state of Maryland and/or the history of Carroll County in the 18th through 20th centuries including operation of the Almshouse and the subsequent formation of the Carroll County Farm Museum as well as other historically significant topics.

3. Carroll County Public Library One $50.00 gift card given in each division with a history related book

Recognizes a high school and middle school project which demonstrate a strong understanding of how their entry directly relates to our modern world and illustrates a clear connection to the trends that are shaping our future. Ideally the selected project also makes connections to local history (Carroll County, Maryland, and/or regional).

4. Historical Society of Carroll County One $50 cash award and one HSCC Annual Membership awarded for each division

Recognizes a middle school and high school student for exemplary historical research. The winning student’s annotated bibliography will include both primary and secondary sources that represent a broad spectrum of resources and perspectives. It may also include the use of oral history interviews the student conducted or existing oral history interviews in the collections of libraries, archives, historical societies, and museums.

5. Historical Society of Mt. Airy One $250.00 cash awarded in each division

Recognizes one high school and one middle school project which best demonstrates this year’s theme: “Turning Points in History: People, Places, Ideas.” The project must focus on how a particular event or innovation in Mt. Airy history impacted the past, present, and future development of the town of Mt. Airy.

6. New Windsor Heritage Museum One $50.00 gift card/cash given in each division

Recognizes a high school and middle school projects whose primary research is centered on the history of New Windsor, MD.

7. Union Mills Homestead One $100.00 cash awarded in each division

Recognizes a high school and middle school project that focuses on the challenges or benefits of establishing and operating a business or businesses in Carroll County. This award honors the entrepreneurial spirit of the Shriver brothers, Andrew and David, who established a saw and grist mill along Big Pipe Creek in Union Mills, MD. Over time, the business evolved to include a tannery, cooper’s shop, blacksmith’s shop, general store, and a wheelwright.

8. Westminster Historic District Commission $250 cash award for the Jr and Senior first and second place competitors (can not exceed $1000)

Recognizes a high school and middle school projects whose primary research is centered in the National Register District of Westminster, MD. Of highest consideration would be projects that focus on historic architecture, historic streetscapes, residences and commercial businesses and local preservation projects. Of keen interest would be those projects that tackle the difficulties of preserving a historic district or buildings in a vibrant and growing city

9. Carroll County Recreation and Parks One $50.00 gift card given in each division

Recognizes one high school and one middle school project, using this year’s theme, that focuses on the historical significance of park development, conservation, or pursuit of leisure activities. The project must demonstrate how history has impacted our current appreciation for local or national services within Recreation & Parks.

10. Celebrating America Committee Award: One $100.00 gift card in each division.

The award will consist of $100 gift card per division to be given to students with projects that recognize and celebrate Carroll County’s diverse past. Unique, untold stories that highlight underrepresented groups or individuals using primary sources will receive first consideration for the award.

11. Taneytown Heritage & Museum Association Award: Two $50.00 gift cards in each division.

The award recognizes one junior and one senior division project that focuses on Taneytown's local history or the local history of Carroll County.

For more information visit National History Day click here

How to Create a Project

Students choose a historical topic related to the annual theme, and then conduct primary and secondary research. You will look through libraries, archives and museums, conduct oral history interviews, and visit historic sites. After you have analyzed and interpreted your sources, and have drawn a conclusion about the significance of your topic, you will then be able to present your work in one of five ways: paper, exhibit, performance, documentary, or a web site.

To begin, view the resources on the 2025 Theme page to choose a topic that is related to the theme. Follow the National History Day® How to create an NHD project guide. It is beneficial to also select an adult mentor in your school (i.e. teacher, media specialist) to help support you while completing the project.

Click here to view examples of winning entries from previous National History Day Contests.

For more information visit National History Day click here

Local History Research Topics

Thank you to our Celebrating America partners for helping to compile a list of local history topics for our students to explore.

Explore the topic of Turning Points in History on the local level by examining how an idea, event, or action that directly, or sometimes indirectly, causes change from the suggested topics below (additional topics will be added as our community partners share them).

Potential Topics at the Historical Society of Carroll County

1. Mary Shellman: Activist, Poet, Educator and Catalyst for Social Change

2. Saving History: The Start-Up Story of the Historical Society of Carroll County in 1939

3. Mapping Our Way Forward: What the Historical Society of Carroll County’s local map collection can tell us about major social and economic turning points in our region

4. Stories Undertold: Bringing Forgotten Histories of Carroll County to light utilizing primary resources and technology

5. Quirky Tales: Odd, Strange and Fanciful Stories from historic Carroll County Newspapers at the Historical Society of Carroll County

Joint Topics (in conjunction with Union Mills Homestead)

1. Pathways to Emancipation: Routes to Freedom for Those Enslaved in Carroll County During the Civil War

2. Images of our Ancestors: How Technology Impacted how Carroll County Families Captured the Everyday in Perfect Clarity

Potential Topics at the Union Mills Homestead

1. The Oliver Evans Mills in the Industrial Revolution: Automated Materials Handling and Technological Innovation in the American Industrial Revolution

2. The Vertical Waterwheel: An Invention that Changed World History

3. Transportation Revolution: The Baltimore-Reisterstown Turnpike’s Role in Linking East to West in the Turnpike Era

4. Roads to Gettysburg: Union Mills’ Role in the New Birth of Freedom at Gettysburg

5. Pathways to Emancipation: Routes to Freedom for Those Enslaved in Carroll County During the Civil War (Joint Topic with HSCC)

6. Democracy in Action: The Political Experience and American Elections in Carroll County: Who Votes, Where, and How?

7. Images of our Ancestors: How Technology Impacted how Carroll County Families Captured the Everyday in Perfect Clarity through Photography (Joint Topic with HSCC)

8. Rural Free Delivery: Turning Point in the American Information Revolution

Potential Topics at the Historical Society of Mount Airy

1. Impact of B&O Railroad on growth of Mt. Airy

2. Impact of the National Road (RT 144) on the growth of Mt. Airy

3. History of the Canning Factory

4. Underground Railroad during the Civil War in Mt. Airy and its impact on emancipation of slaves

5. Impact of U.S Colored Troops in Mt. Airy on progress of the Civil War

6. Role of Mt. Airy in the Civil War

7. Impact of railroad riots on Main Street Mt. Airy in the summer of 1901

8. Auctioning of Henry Bussard’s property in 1884 resulting in the Boomtown growth of Mt. Airy in the late 1880s

Potential Topics at McDaniel College Archives

1. Sadie Kneller Miller, pioneering female photojournalist in the early 20th century

2. Integration of Black students at Western Maryland College

3. Western Maryland College and coeducation in the 19th century

4. Brig General Robert Gill and the Nuremberg Trials

5. Anti-War protests at Western Maryland College

6. China Pictorial Collection: Chinese state propaganda in the 20th century

Potential History Day Topics for New Windsor Heritage

1. Becoming a Town: The Founding of New Windsor (founded 1797, incorporated 1784) by Isaac Atlee

2. If These Walls Could Talk: Turning Points in the history of 500 Main Street (From college to Brethren Center to Springdale Academy)

3. New Windsor and the Gettysburg Campaign: How one child’s diary entry links New Windsor to a turning point of the Civil War

4. If You Build It, They Will Come: Western Maryland Railroad Company reaches New Windsor in 1862.

5. Mad Scientist or Medical Breakthrough: Dr. Roberts Bartholow's Electrode Experiment on Mary Rafferty

Potential History Day Topics for Carroll County Farm Museum

1. Alms House: Early Years and Transition. The early history of the Alms House and its transition in the 20th century to the Carroll County Farm Museum, which was a definite Turning Point in History.

2. Early Farming in Carroll County: The history of farming in Carroll County…farming techniques and tools, and the transition to modern equipment and techniques. This would demonstrate a Turning Point in Carroll County Agriculture/Farming.

For more information visit National History Day click here

Resources

Resources for Students

Maryland Humanities Maryland History Day Research Prompts

Maryland Humanities History Day Resources

National History Day Student Resources

DocsTeach National History Day Resources

Frontiers in History: People, Places, Ideas Graphic Organizer for Planning

National History Day Primary Source Sets from Digital Public Library of America

NATIONAL HISTORY DAY PLANNING GUIDE

Resources for Parents

Project Resources

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Online Research: Carroll County Public Library recommends using Gale OneFile: U.S. History and Gale OneFile: World History, which are available to all public libraries and public schools in Maryland.

https://library.carr.org/collections/research.asp#History