Innovations from the printing press to frozen food to the national park service were among the subjects of the student projects in Chuckey-Doak Middle School’s second annual National History Day event.
The event, held on December 15, involved displays, student-written plays, documentaries, Web pages and papers related to this year’s theme, “Innovations in History.”
Students worked on projects individually and as groups throughout the semester in preparation for judging.
Students and teachers at Chuckey-Doak received assistance from Tusculum College’s Department of Museum Program and Studies in researching subjects and putting together the projects.
Supplies needed to complete the projects were provided by the Andrew Johnson Heritage Association. The association has also provided a grant to the Department of Museum Program and Studies to hire Darlene McCleish as National History Day resource coordinator to provide an increased level of hands-on assistance to students and teachers in preparing projects.
In addition to their historical subject, the projects also gave the students the opportunity to learn research, writing and organization skills as evidenced by the final projects.
Projects that earned first, second and third place honors in each category of the event – exhibits, performance, documentaries, Web pages and papers – will advance to the Regional National History Day event hosted on the Tusculum campus by the Department of Museum Program Studies in February.
Advancing to the regional competition were the following (by category):
Individual exhibits – sixth grade: first place, “The Battery” by Megan Silvers; second place, “Extra, Extra, Extra: Read All About It” by Madison McCoy and third place, “Vietnam War Gear” by Josh Edgell; seventh grade: first place, “Mammograms” by Peyton Bacon; second place, “Healthful Innovations: The Influenza Vaccine” by Ariel Davis and third place, “See Beyond the Skin” by Alicia Phillips; eighth grade: first place, “Atari 2000: History of the Future” by Chance Powell; second place, “Telescope” by Breanne Schroeder, and third place, “Need for Speed” by Lauren Dunbar.
Group exhibits — sixth grade: first place, “Reaping Across America” by Amee Hankins and Caleb Moon; second place, “Party Lines to Private Lines” by Ashlynn Harrison, Logan Taylor and Keri Ricker; third place, “The Plow” by Jacob Bolton and Jody Harrison; seventh grade: first place, “Protecting the Present, Preserving the Past, Transforming the Future” by Alexus Gibson and Michala Myers; second place, “Insulin: by Heidi Rose Armstrong and Amelia Rose Schroeder, and third place, “Tractors of Time” by Austin Brooks and Parker McCrary; eighth grade: first place, “Handwriting Be Gone” by Roman Bishop, Matthew Donaldson and Jacob Quillen; second place, “Shall Not Deny My Vote” by Katie Bishop and Maddy Hensley, and third place, “First Creation of Video Games” by Zach Byer and Jameson Wills.
Performance — first place, “Orville and Wilbur Wright: The Invention of Flight” by Austin Fillers, Daniel Beddingfield and Kelley Russ, and second place, “Wright Brothers” by Nathan Blaylock, Taylor Dean and Jeff Hensley.
Documentary and Web page — first place, “It’s Atomic” by Josh Lamb, Jared Meredith and Tad Norton, and second place, “The Pythagorean Theory” by Dustin Cobble.
Papers — first place, “Giving Life to Abortion” by Caroline Kinney.
The Museums of Tusculum College administer the President Andrew Johnson Museum and Library and the Doak House Museum on campus. The Doak House Museum, the 19th century home of the Rev. Samuel Witherspoon Doak, co-founder of Tusculum College, hosts thousands of school children from the region for a variety of educational programs related to the 19th century and CHARACTER COUNTS! The President Andrew Johnson Museum and Library houses a special collection of items relating to the 17th president, the college’s archives and volumes from the institution’s original library. The museums are also two of the 10 structures on the Tusculum campus on the National Register of Historic Places. The museum department also offers one of the few undergraduate degree programs in museum studies in the country.