Chicago Metro History Day

Where Students Make History!

Chicago Metro History Day, formerly known as the Chicago Metro History Fair, is a project-based inquiry program that empowers students to become historians who conduct research and share their conclusions. Guided by their teachers, students in grades six through twelve choose their own topics connected to an annual theme, and then conduct research, analyze sources, make an argument, and finally produce a project to show their work. Students make websites, performances, documentaries, papers, and exhibitions which are evaluated by community volunteers at annual competitions in the Chicago metro area. This rigorous and rewarding program prepares students for high school and college expectations and helps young people become informed, engaged citizens. Come make history with us!

See this year’s important dates and deadlines.

News and Opportunities from History Day Partners

National History Day Celebrates Affiliate Nominees for the 2024 Patricia Behring Teacher of the Year Award

National History Day® (NHD) is proud to announce the teachers honored as the 2024 Patricia Behring Teacher of the Year nominees. Each NHD affiliate may nominate one middle school teacher and one high school teacher per year for this prestigious award. In addition to celebrating outstanding history scholarship and innovative classroom instruction, the award comes with a $10,000 cash prize. The 102 teachers selected as the 2024 Patricia Behring Teacher of the Year nominees represent 50 of NHD’s 58 affiliates.

One national winner in the middle school (junior) division and one national winner in the high school (senior) division will be selected by a committee of experienced teachers and historians and announced on Thursday, June 13, 2024, at the National History Day National Contest Awards Ceremony in College Park, Maryland. The Awards Ceremony will begin around 8 am and will be livestreamed at nhd.org/awards-ceremony.

Congratulations to Mrs. Patricia Romano Meegan of Philip Rogers Elementary School, Chicago, for being nominated out of the state of Illinois in the junior division. See the full list of nominees.

Our Sponsors

Chicago Metro History Day, a program of the Chicago History Museum, is made possible by participating History Day schools and the generosity of area organizations and individual donors. We gratefully acknowledge support provided by Busey Bank, HBK Engineering, the Minow Family Foundation in honor of Josephine Baskin Minow, and the University of Illinois Chicago. Additional programmatic support is provided by the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources Program, the Black Metropolis Research Consortium, the Latin School of Chicago, Northeastern Illinois University Libraries, and our many prize sponsors. Chicago Metro History Day is a regional affiliate of National History Day.

Support from donors makes it possible for Chicago Metro History Day to reach more than 10,000 students annually from numerous schools in the Chicagoland area. Help us spark a lifelong love of history through this wonderful program. Consider making a gift today.