Each year, thousands of students across the state spend countless hours preparing exhibits, documentaries, performances, websites and papers for National History Day. On May 7-8, 2014, the hard work of a handful of these junior high and high school students will pay off at the Oklahoma National History Day contest at the Oklahoma History Center.

Oklahoma History Day is part of National History Day, a highly regarded academic program for 6th through 12th grade students with more than 500,000 students taking part annually. Students from across the state choose historical topics related to an annual theme and conduct extensive research at libraries, archives, museums and historic sites. Student scholars use research to draw conclusions about their topics' historical significance by presenting their work at regional and state contests before qualifying for the Kenneth E. Behring National Contest each June, held at the University of Maryland at College Park.

"National History Day allows students to do the work of historians, explore the past in a personal and unique way, and then present what they learn to historians and museum professionals," said Jason Harris, Oklahoma's History Day coordinator. "It is one of the best tools for authentic evaluation that classroom teachers can find, and brings students from rural and urban schools together in a unique way, giving them skills that will benefit them in school, college and life."

On Wednesday and Thursday, May 7-8, 2014, these young historians will compete in a variety of categories to earn a chance to represent Oklahoma at the national contest in June. Roughly 70 Oklahoma students will join some 2,800 others from around the world in Maryland to compete for special prizes, scholarships and more.

The Oklahoma National History Day contest begins at 9 a.m. at the Oklahoma History Center located at 800 Nazih Zuhdi Dr. in Oklahoma City. For more information or to receive a teacher's packet for next year's contest, contact the state coordinator at 405-522-0785.

The Oklahoma Historical Society, State Historic Preservation Office will host Historic Preservation ABCs: Oklahoma's 26th Annual Statewide Preservation Conference, June 4-6, 2014, in Norman, with most events on the University of Oklahoma campus. Conference registration and sessions will be held in Gould Hall, 830 Van Vleet Oval, home of the OU College of Architecture. Registration is now open at http://iqc.ou.edu/events/preservation. The basic registration fee is $40.00 per person until May 28.

Fifty-four Oklahoma preservation leaders and guest speakers from across the country will participate in the conference, which offers three concurrent tracks of sessions and several special events.  

The conference will conclude with Friday afternoon's Plenary Session. The Oklahoma Main Street Center sponsors the featured speaker, Linda Caldwell, who will present "Preservation: A Bridge to Saving America's Rural Places." Caldwell is the founder and former executive director for the Tennessee Overhill Heritage Association (TOHA), a program that began in 1990 as a pilot project for the National Trust for Historic Preservation's "Heritage Tourism Initiative." TOHA is a national model for successful cultural tourism. Its mission is to promote and preserve the natural and cultural resources of McMinn, Monroe and Polk counties through cultural tourism. Caldwell has more than thirty years of experience working in the nonprofit sector on cultural tourism, community arts, rural economic development and preservation.

Many sessions and events are on the agenda, including a special program at the headquarters of the Oklahoma Archeological Survey; Preservation Oklahoma, Inc.'s annual meeting and luncheon with featured speaker Joe Watkins, supervisory anthropologist and chief, Tribal Relations and American Cultures, National Park Service, Washington, D. C.; the State Historic Preservation Office's awards banquet; the opening reception on Norman's Main Street; and tours of local landmarks.

The conference provides a special opportunity for design professionals. Conference sessions qualify for HSW hours needed to fulfill requirements of the State of Oklahoma's Board of Governors of Licensed Architects, Landscape Architects and Interior Designers.

Joining the Oklahoma Historical Society, State Historic Preservation Office as conference cosponsors are the Oklahoma Main Street Center, Oklahoma Department of Commerce; Preservation Oklahoma, Inc.; University of Oklahoma, College of Architecture and Institute for Quality Communities; City of Norman; Cleveland County Historical Society; Norman Arts Council; Norman Chamber of Commerce; Norman Convention and Visitors Bureau; Norman Downtowners; and Oklahoma Archeological Survey.

To request a registration brochure, contact Melvena Heisch, deputy SHPO, at 405-522-4484 or mheisch@okhistory.org. The registration fee is $40 per person if you register by May 28, and there are optional ticketed events. The fee is $50 per person after the deadline or at the door. Information about the conference is also available here. 

The Spiro Mounds Archaeological Center will hold its 9th annual Archaeology Day on May 10, 2014, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Spiro Mounds site celebrates its 36th year of increasing awareness of Oklahoma archaeology. As a bonus Archaeology Day also will be a free day with no entrance fees collected, although donations are gratefully accepted.

All day during the celebration, items will be given away by drawing and there will be birthday cake. If you have artifacts, like arrowheads or pottery, someone from the Oklahoma Archeological Survey will be available to identify up to 10 artifacts per person.  Artists will be displaying their works, especially those using the Spiro Mounds designs in their art.

Flint knappers (stone tool makers) will be on site showing off their skills. Blowgun, stickball and Chunkee demonstrations will be available upon request. Lectures will be featured during the day, including a lecture on Fort Coffee and the Fort Coffee Choctaw Boys Academy. There also will be a guided tour of the site at 2 p.m. led by manager Dennis Peterson. The regular exhibits will be available throughout the day as well.

The Spiro Mounds Archaeological Center is located three miles east of Spiro, Okla., on highway 9/271 and four miles north on Lock and Dam Road.

If you would like more information about Archaeology Day events or volunteer opportunities, please contact Dennis Peterson at 918-962-2062 or spiro@okhistory.org.