History of NHDMO
How is NHDMO related to National History Day?
Who can participate in the NHDMO program?
How does NHD benefit students?
How do students participate in the NHDMO program?
Beginning as a local contest in Cleveland, Ohio in 1974, History Day soon expanded to a statewide competition and then spread to neighboring states. By 1980, it had become a national program. Missouri was one of the early affiliates, welcoming History Day in 1979 and hosting its first contest at Southeast Missouri State University in 1980. The state contest rotated to various institutions around the state throughout most of the 1980s, until The State Historical Society of Missouri (SHS) and the Western Historical Manuscript Collection (WHMC) gave it a permanent home at the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1989. With the 2011 merger of WHMC and SHS, it is now sponsored by The State Historical Society of Missouri. The Missouri Humanities Council (MHC) also became a major partner in the program in 2010.
NHDMO, along with similar programs in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, International Schools in East and South Asia, and Department of Defense Schools in Europe and Puerto Rico, is affiliated with National History Day, a nation-wide organization located at the University of Maryland-College Park. The National History Day contest is the oldest and most highly regarded humanities contest for students in grades 6-12. NHDMO adheres to the official NHD rules and judging criteria, so that students will be judged consistently throughout all the levels of competition.
All types of students can participate in NHDMO. The program is open to 6-12th grade students from public, private, parochial, and home schools—from rural, urban, and suburban areas of the state. The program has proven beneficial for average and academically-challenged students, as well as academically-advanced students.
The NHDMO program serves as a vehicle to teach students important literacy skills and to engage them in the use and understanding of museum and library resources. It inspires students to study local history, and then challenges them to expand their thinking and apply knowledge of local events to the national or worldwide scene. It also teaches students to analyze information and situations.
The program also teaches students to become technologically literate through the use of computer and Internet research methods, and the use of technologically advanced applications in their presentations. It encourages cooperative learning by providing outlets for group research and presentations. In addition, the program helps develop interviewing skills and self-confidence, gained through interaction with history and education professionals, both in the research stage and at all levels of the contests.
See the results of a national evaulation of student performance based on participation in the NHD program--NHD Works!
Missouri is divided into nine regions, each hosted by a sponsoring institution: Northwest Missouri State University at Maryville, Truman State University in Kirksville, the Harry S. Truman Library in Independence, the Missouri State Archives in Jefferson City, the University of Missouri-St. Louis in St. Louis, Missouri Southern State University in Joplin, Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla, and Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau.
Each of these regions is responsible for hosting a contest for the schools in certain surrounding counties. Winners of these contests move on to the state and national levels. Teachers and students must determine to which region they belong and contact that coordinator for information about contest and workshop registration forms, dates, and locations as well as copies of rulebooks and curricular materials. | 
