Staff photos / Bob Coupland St. Rose sixth-grade students, from left, Derek Puryear, Riley Crish, Giannmarco Femia and Wyatt Ruby, prepare to present their projects at the History Day competition. Puryear did a website project on Jim Thorpe, an American athlete and Olympic gold medalist. Crish did a documentary on the history of the piano, and Femia did a poster exhibit on Issac Newton. Ruby did his project on Frida Kahlo, a Mexican painter.

YOUNGSTOWN — Area junior high and high school students at the annual regional history day competition showcased their knowledge of the past, as they presented exhibits about historical events and people.

The Ohio History Connection Region 4 Ohio History Day took place Saturday at Youngstown State University.

David Simonelli, Region 4 coordinator and professor of history at YSU, said 250 participants, including youth from Trumbull and Mahoning counties, took part by submitting their projects at the beginning of the event for judges to look over.

Simonelli said students could participate with documentaries, exhibits, papers, performances and websites related to an historical topic under the theme “Frontiers in History.”

He said those successful at the regional event advance to the state event April 22 and then national contest June 11 to 15.

“This event allows for finding creative ways to show an interest in an historical subject. This is basically a science fair for history kids,” Simonelli said.

Students in sixth to eighth grades were the junior category, and ninth to 12th the senior category.

“Exhibits were the largest category. Students have cardboard exhibits with pictures and showcasing their sources to describe whatever their topic was.” Simonelli said.

College professors, former history students and local teachers were among the judges.

Traci Manning, curator of education for the Mahoning Valley Historical Society, was among the judges who also presents a local history award from the society for a student who does a project on a local history topic.

“We present a local history award every year to outstanding projects that have local connections. This is a way to thank the students for keeping their topic local,” Manning said, noting the award has been given at the event for more than 10 years.

Manning judged junior individual exhibits, looking for historical content of projects, use of primary and secondary sources, and an analysis of the topic.

“There were many interesting projects. There was one on creating Mill Creek Park and another on local steel unions,” she said.

In 2024, the regional event will mark its 50th anniversary, Manning said.

Mary Bebech, a judge who serves as Hubbard schools director of pupil services, said she judged the documentaries made by junior high students.

“I was impressed how students gathered so many resources and then presented them in such an interesting manner. They owned their projects and were able to answer follow-up questions on what they did. They all presented interesting perspectives on a variety of topics,” she said.

Brian Bonhomme, professor of humanities and social sciences at YSU, said this was the largest number of projects submitted in recent years.

“We are excited to have this many participants. It demonstrates there is a lot of interest in history among area students. We braved the 50 mph winds to judge today,” he said.

STUDENT PARTICIPANTS

Students said the event increased their interest in history.

Kaiden Bloom, seventh grader at John F. Kennedy High School in Warren, was marking his second year at the event. He said he did a group exhibit on the history of the National Football League

“We had to do a presentation on the start of the NFL. I was much better prepared this year knowing what to expect,” he said.

Giovanni Williams, seventh-grader at JFK, said he did a project on the first video game, and classmate Nicholas Branca, seventh-grader, did his on the first U.S. prison. Both marked their first year competing.

Williams did an exhibit with pictures of video games and sharing interesting facts. Branca said prisons were formed before many of the U.S. states were established.

“The judges asked us questions about our projects, which I was prepared to answer. It was easy to answer their questions,” Branca said.

Derek Puryear, a sixth grader at St. Rose School in Girard marking his first year, said he did a website for the event online on Jim Thorpe, an American athlete and Olympic gold medalist.

“I liked walking around and seeing all the different projects,” he said.

Riley Crish, sixth grader at St. Rose, said he did a documentary on history of the piano, narrating the history, while classmate Giannmarco Femia, sixth grade, did a poster exhibit on Issac Newton, an English mathematician, physicist and astronomer.

Wyatt Ruby, also a St. Rose sixth-grader, did his project on Frida Kahlo, a Mexican painter, to let people know about someone they may not have heard of before.