Hawai‘i History Day, a state affiliate of National History Day (NHD), is a year-long history education program that invigorates the teaching and learning of history in grades 4-12. It promotes a theme-based, research-centered model for history and civics education. Students present their projects in an exhibit, performance, documentary, essay, or website project. History Day culminates in the presentation and evaluation of these projects at school, district, state and national history days.
In 2019-2020, Hawaiʻi Council for the Humanities is celebrating 30 years of Hawaiʻi History Day programming. What a wonderful ride it’s been so far! We are immensely privileged to be working with grade school, middle school and high school teachers in Hawaiʻi, who work so hard enriching the lives of our children. Teachers and schools who participate in Hawaiʻi History Day go above and beyond the call helping their students work on projects that take months of research and preparation, a rare opportunity for many students. The goals of our program are to offer teacher and students another path towards broadening historical perspectives and deepening understanding of the stories of our past, the complex and beautiful moʻolelo that make up our human experience.
As an introduction to our program (or perhaps a nostalgic reflection, if you are already part of our Hawaiʻi History Day community), please enjoy this beautiful video, lovingly put together by Dorian Langi, who has been a dedicated volunteer to Hawaiʻi History Day for many years. Mahalo nui, Dorian, for such a caring testament to this work and this program.
Three Divisions
- Senior Division: Students in grades 9-12
- Junior Division: Students in grades 6-8
- Youth Division: Students in grades 4-5
Five Different Formats
- Exhibit
- Performance
- Documentary
- Essay
- Website