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Each spring, the Student Union at BGSU welcomes middle and high school students from Northwest Ohio to compete in the Region 1 Contest of Ohio History Day. Students create tabletop displays, documentaries, websites, performances, and papers, then bring them to the Regional Contest for judging and feedback.  

image of student holding up a 3 dimension exhibit with text about anesthetic
Toledo Early College Student with exhibit about the invention of anesthesia

This year, we had an amazing lineup of student projects. Popular culture was a big topic, with projects like “Barbie: The Original IT Girl,” “Now and Then: The Beatles Impact,” and “Hip Hop: Making Strides Toward Equality.”  Many students also researched technological or medical developments, like radio, anesthesia, and HeLa cells.  

Walking around the Exhibits Room, you could hear students explaining their research to each other – by choosing their own topic and producing a finished project, they became experts in their topics and learned the process of “doing history” – the same process we teach at BGSU in our Public History courses.  

image of a model of a gold and black sarcophagus
Student exhibit on King Tut’s Tomb

Top-placing projects in each Region qualify for the State Contest in Columbus. This year, 3 Region 1 projects (5 students total) placed in First or Second Place at the State Contest, making them eligible to compete in the National History Contest in College Park, Maryland this summer. National contestants meet with congresspeople, tour the Capitol, and have future internship and networking opportunities.  

Congratulations to every student who entered a project this year and to the teachers who spent countless hours coaching them through the program and helping them refine their research. We also had a wonderful response from Northwest Ohio volunteers, including BGSU students and staff along with partners from Midstory Toledo, University of Toledo, Allen County Museum, Wood County Parks District and more. These judges spend their Saturday meeting students, reviewing projects, and leaving feedback that students can use to improve their projects for the next level of competition.  

Image of three volunteers sitting at a table with laptops smiling
A few of our volunteer judges, evaluating the Performance Category

The Department of History at BGSU is honored to host the Region 1 Contest each year, with support from University Libraries. 

 It would not be possible without additional help from our 2024 Sponsors: Cenovus Energy, Buckeye Broadband, and the Bowling Green Exchange Club.  

If you’d like information about participating in History Day as a student, teacher, or volunteer, you can read more about the program here.