The University of Wyoming announced on May 1 that 135 middle and high school students from across the state competed in the 46th annual Wyoming History Day competition, held April 20 at the university’s American Heritage Center. The event took place at Coe Library and the Wyoming Union.
Students presented research projects inspired by this year’s National History Day theme, “Revolution, Reaction, Reform in History.” Projects included papers, documentaries, exhibits, performances, and websites. First- and second-place winners in each junior and senior division category will move on to represent Wyoming at the National History Day Competition at the University of Maryland in June.
Special awards were also given with support from sponsors such as WyoHistory.org; UW’s Global Engagement Office; the National Society of Colonial Dames of America in Wyoming; Jim Gatchell Memorial Museum; Wyoming Archaeological Society; Wyoming Association of Professional Archaeologists; Wyoming State Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution; and UW’s American Heritage Center (AHC).
Winners were recognized across multiple categories. In Junior Group Documentary, Harmony Johnston and Camille Croft from Worland Middle School took first place for “The Wright Brothers: Heavier Than Air Powered Flight.” Senior Group Documentary was won by Iris Woltman and Alex Wise from Lander Valley High School for their project on Dalit women’s movements. Other categories included group exhibits, performances, websites as well as individual entries.
Several students received special honors. Emily Mai from Laramie High School earned both the Voice of Wyoming Award for her project “Reaction to Injustice: The Black 14’s Drive for Reform” and the Mark A. Greene Excellence Award for primary source use. Other notable awards went to Wacey Myers for family history research on Picasso’s influence on art reform, Katherine Levenson for work on planetary science revolutions through NASA missions, Dodge Hamilton and Jackson Thornton for archaeological research into Iron Age shipbuilding, Violet Dunn for a project about Florence Nightingale’s historical impact on women in history, Anneke Bradley and Vada Haling for international history analysis regarding royal reforms abroad,
and more scholarships recognizing outstanding historical scholarship among high school juniors or seniors attending college within Wyoming.
Since 1999,
the AHC has administered this program aimed at helping K-12 students build skills through historical study under Bryce Mittelstadt’s leadership with additional support from state organizations including National History Day. Volunteers play a key role each year by judging entries or supporting event operations.
