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200 students compete in history fair
By LORRI HELFAND, Times Staff Writer DUNEDIN -- Some students think history is only about earth-shaking events. But Dunedin High teacher, Alan Kay, wants students to know they can find history everywhere. That's why he encourages them to compete in the Pinellas County History Fair. Wednesday, more than 200 Pinellas middle and high school students showcased projects ranging from the the fall of communism to the history of the bikini. The Pinellas fair is part of National History Day, which is not a day at all, but a yearlong history education program that culminates in a national contest in June. Each year students are asked to relate their research to a broad theme. This year's theme was "Revolution, Reaction, Reform." Kay said the national center chooses general themes for a reason. "It allows kids to really focus on something that they're interested in and present it in any way, shape or form," he said. "The whole idea is to be as general as possible and give the kids latitude. It really allows kids to explore anything." The Pinellas County History Fair has grown since its inception. Kay, history fair coordinator, pioneered the fair in 1998, with only 28 students from Dunedin High competing. This year students from Largo High and Oak Grove and Southside Fundamental middle schools also participated. Students can compete individually or in groups of two to five with research papers, exhibits, performances or documentaries. Sixth- though eighth-graders compete in the junior division, and high school students compete in the senior division. First- and second-place winners go to the state competition, which will take place May 2-4 in Tallahassee. The contest is the best program to teach kids how to learn, Kay said. Dunedin High junior Veronique Conus, 18, agrees. The competition improves research, study and deadline skills, said Conus, who won Best of Show on Wednesday, along with her partner Kevin Brown, 16. They presented a richly textured, 3-dimensional exhibit on DNA, complete with a PowerPoint presentation. Kay, who also spearheaded Hillsborough's fair when he taught there, insists his students go beyond contest requirements. Each of his students must cite at least 15 research sources. The projects are mandatory in his classes, but students are not are not required to compete in the fair. The contest is judged by local educators and history enthusiasts. Bob Delack, president of the Largo Historical Society and one of the judges, said the performances are an exceptional teaching tool. "Any time you get physically involved in doing something it imprints the psyche more deeply," he said. Freshmen Danielle Brewster and Melissa Barrido, both 14, who won second place for their presentation on the Hitler Youth, got involved on a personal level. They created a story about friends forced to make tough choices. Barrido said her cousin, who lived in Germany, located a former Hitler Youth on Tuesday, but they weren't able to contact him before the contest. Whether they went on to the state competition or not, Brewster said she wanted to contact the man because she was emotionally involved in the project. Other Dunedin High students will go on to the state competition. Five of Kay's students took first place for their play comparing the bombing of Pearl Harbor with the World Trade Center attack. Oak Grove seventh-grader Jamie Tezzas, 12, who worked on a pyramid exhibit, said she learned a lot by working in a group. "Everybody has a different idea how to do it, and you put those together and you get one really great project," she said. Most of all, the event breeds enthusiasm, said Conus, who has competed since her freshman year at Dunedin High. "The fact is we did this without even being in Mr. Kay's class," she said. "We did this totally on our own."
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From the Times North Pinellas desks |
