Alaska History Day is the Alaska-based affiliate program for National History Day® (NHD), which for fifty years has helped teachers teach and students learn historical research skills. The program is sponsored by the Alaska Historical Society.
Alaska History Day helps educators and students participate in the History Day program by connecting them with the resources needed to undertake this research journey, with a strong focus on exploring our state’s history. In Alaska, we recognize that understanding our history is key to understanding our place in the world. We strongly encourage the study of our local, regional, and state history because we know that knowledge about our home is powerful. We work with a variety of institutions, museums, historical societies, archives, and community-based organizations to connect educators and learners to the tools they need.
Alaska History Day/NHD fosters an appreciation for history through project-based learning, helping middle and high-schoolers gain research, problem-solving analysis, and critical thinking skills; gain self-esteem and confidence; and engage with and grow their appreciation of the study of history and the world around them.
By participating in AHD/NHD, students become writers, filmmakers, web designers, playwrights, and artists as they create unique contemporary expressions of history. Each year, NHD selects a theme to help teachers and students frame their research. Based on that theme, participants identify a topic they want to research, gain an understanding through study of primary and secondary sources, develop an argument about their topic’s significance in history, create their project to share their conclusions, and finally present thei work at the competition itself. Students can work individually or in groups as they build their research projects. While some contests are in-person, Alaska History Day is an entirely on-line
competition, allowing students to submit projects from throughout the state without expensive travel.
Alaska History Day began in 1989 and has been operated by various organizations around the state. Since in 2022, the Alaska Historical Society is the program sponsor, with financial support coming from various groups and individuals, including the Alaska Humanities Forum, the Ted Stevens Foundation, the Cook Inlet Historical Society, National Park Service – Alaska, and the UAF Department of History.
Information for Students
There are many ways to “Do National History Day” as a student. While entering the contest is a way to provide a deadline and get recognition and feedback for your hard work, it is optional. The project-based framework helps provide structure to student research.
Information for Families
As the parent or caring adult of a History Day student, you will have the opportunity to witness the unfolding of a History Day project and see your child become a historian. Parents are often asked to save the day, whether by providing transportation to the library or archives, solving technology crises, or helping a frantic student complete the annotated bibliography.
Whatever the role, parents are a vital part of the History Day experience. If you’re new to the program, learn more about the History Day, and the academic and personal benefits of doing a History Day project (provided here by the Minnesota Historical Society).
Please note that teachers can adapt History Day to meet their classroom needs. Requirements, deadlines, and grading rubrics will vary across classrooms. Questions about your student’s project or about any school-level or regional competition should be directed to their teacher. If you have questions about Alaska History Day or National History Day competition, please reach out to the State Coordinator at alaskahistoryday@gmail.com.
Do you homeschool, or would you like your student to participate in a History Day competition even though their school is not participating? Parents and guardians can act as sponsoring teachers. Please reach out to the State Coordinator at alaskahistoryday@gmail.com.
Introduction to History Day Letter for Families
Land, History, and Shared Responsibility Acknowledgement
The Alaska Historical Society believes the history of Alaska is the history of many groups and peoples from every continent and population group, but especially Alaska Native peoples as the first Alaskans, Alaskans creating, celebrating, and sharing history here since time immemorial. The land on which AHS members live and work is imbued with deep historic meaning that shapes the identity, development and sustenance of Native cultures as well as our state’s development in ways we have an obligation to seek to understand. We believe we have a shared responsibility with Alaska Native peoples to bring diverse historical perspectives to our work. Today, 229 federally recognized tribes populate Alaska, making it among the most linguistically, culturally and demographically diverse places in the world. We honor that diverse history by respectfully acknowledging that much of our work takes place on the ancestral lands of Alaska’s First Peoples.