Two Highland Christian School students received silver medals in the Junior Group Documentary level at the Kenneth E. Behring National History Day contest in Maryland for their film project, “Marie Curie: Impacting Science through Radioactivity.”
Julia Oostema, of Dyer, and Cate Peerbolte, of Highland, said they chose their topic while flipping through their science books.
“We were studying chemistry and the periodic table of elements and there was a small paragraph on Marie Curie, so we decided to look into her work,” said Julia, 14. “After learning more about her and her contributions to science, we decided to make a documentary film on her for the National History Day contest.”
The Indiana Historical Society sent 58 Hoosier students to compete in the national contest. Taking place last month at University of Maryland, Indiana was well represented, with several students earning special awards for their presentations.
Julia and Cate were not the only group representing Highland Christian School at the national competition. Kayla Sylvester and Madeline Zandstra, two seventh-graders, also competed at the national level but did not finish among the top three.
National History Day in Indiana is a yearlong program dedicated to enhancing history education in elementary and secondary schools. Students in Grades 4 through 12 explore a historical subject, then use their research to create imaginative exhibits, original performances, media documentaries, websites and papers.
The theme this year was Leadership and Legacy in History.
National History Day in Indiana has been organized by the Indiana Historical Society for more than a decade and has played an active part in Indiana’s schools across for more than 25 years, with more than 5,000 Indiana students annually taking part.
Julia and Cate competed in regionals in February at St. Mary’s College in South Bend before advancing to state competition in Indianapolis. They took first place in state competition.
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Cate, 14, became familiar with the contest when National History Day was offered in her sixth-grade class.
“My mom has a book by Eve Curie (Marie’s daughter). It is a biography of Marie’s life,” she said. “So, because of finding Marie in our science book we took great interest in this book. And we created our project, ‘Marie Curie: Impacting Science through Radioactivity.'”
The Indiana delegation also made the most of its experience with a trip to Washington, D.C., including a meeting with Sen. Joe Donnelly, whose children are past participants in the National History Day program.
Students also broke into smaller groups to meet with their congressional representatives, including Reps. Susan Brooks, Luke Messer and Todd Rokita.
Both Cate and Julia agree that history is a fascinating subject, and this national-level experience was a great opportunity.
“One thing that I like about history is that everything that happens leads to something else. History is like a river,” Julia said. “What happens in one place affects what happens downstream. And when you study history, you can learn from the mistakes that were made in the past.”
Learn more
For more information on National History Day and other Indiana Historical Society programs, call 317-232-1882.