Hawaii Island students presented projects April 12 that placed and earned History Day medals as well as garnered special state awards and prizes from a variety of local public humanities organizations at the 2014 Hawaii History Day State Fair, a
Hawaii Island students presented projects April 12 that placed and earned History Day medals as well as garnered special state awards and prizes from a variety of local public humanities organizations at the 2014 Hawaii History Day State Fair, a competition that annually involves hundreds of students and teachers from the islands of Hawaii, Kauai, Maui, Molokai and Oahu.
The Hawaii Council for the Humanities again sponsored the state competition, the theme of which was “Rights and Responsibilities in History.”
Innovations Public Charter School students Anton Schultz and Mia Nguyen won a gold medal for their Youth Performance project titled “Columbus’s Journeys to the Caribbean.” Four other projects by students from the Big Island garnered special awards and prizes from various organizations at the state competition. They are:
• “Japanese Americans: Rights Denied, Responsibility to Serve” was a senior exhibit by Ren Miyose of Waiakea High School that won the 100th Infantry Battalion Legacy Organization Award for outstanding projects on the history of Japanese Americans during World War II and Hawaii Nikkei History Editorial Board Award for outstanding use of primary sources in a History Day project.
• “Queen Lili‘uokalani and the Hawaiian Kingdom” was a junior exhibit by Kukui Haumea, Lanihuli Kanahele and Keaka Kaleiwahea of Ka ‘Umeke Ka‘eo Public Charter School that was presented the Hawaii Heritage Center Award for outstanding projects in local or ethnic history.
• “Te Reo Maori” was a junior exhibit by Kahulialii Arraujo, Makakapu Ioane and Kaimalu Nagasawa-Thornton of Ka ‘Umeke Ka‘eo that won the Pacific and Asian Affairs Council Award for outstanding projects on historical research related to international understanding and awareness.
• “Darwin’s Responsibility for Scientific Integrity” was a senior documentary by Olivia Murray of Waiakea High School that won the University of Hawaii Center for Biographical Research Award for outstanding history projects using biographical sources.
History Day is a nationwide competition that makes history come alive for America’s youth by engaging them in the discovery of historic, cultural and social experiences of the past.
Hawaii History Day, part of the National History Day program, is a yearlong education program that culminates in the annual state-level fair.
