Answer: National History Day

National History Day (NHD), founded in 1974, is a non-profit organization that promotes history education in schools through its offering of academic programs that encourage students to practice and hone their research and critical thinking skills. Each year thousands of middle and high school students from across the United States participate in NHD. For the national competition that's part of the program, they are required to choose topics related to a pre-chosen theme. After that, they conduct primary source research on their chosen topic in order to produce a documentary, exhibit, essay, performance, or website. Their products are then entered in their local NHD contests. The local winners move on to their state's competition, and then those winners move on to the national competition in Washington, D. C. For 2017, NHD's theme is "Taking a Stand in History," and HSP, along with dozens of other local organizations, is a regular NHD partner.

For the fifth year in a row, HSP will host the National History Day Philly Kick-off on October 17th with a free teacher's workshop. This workshop is for educators who have worked with the NHD program before as well as those who would like to learn about it for the first time. Educators will learn how to implement NHD into their classrooms, with the workshop featuring representatives from more than 20 of Philadelphia’s cultural institutions sharing resources for student research. Act 48/CEU credit is available for educators. 

HSP's website also features an education web portal, containing resources for students and educators alike.