Encouraging history in schools

School students are being encouraged to enter the 2008 National History Challenge after the announcement of this year?s theme: Australia Meets the World.
The Challenge is a research based contest designed to give students the skills of an historian through an investigation of the past.
Students from Years 5 to 12 can enter with winners a trip to Canberra. Essays, museum displays or audiovisual presentations can be submitted as entries.
Students can investigate their community, explore their past, and examine major events that have helped Australia evolve as a nation, or formulate new ideas and theories.
Finalists from each State and Territory will be flown to Canberra to compete for the national title of the Australian Young Historian of the Year. Each finalist will receive a cash prize and a medallion. The Australian Young Historian of the Year will receive $500, a plaque and a certificate.
The National History Challenge promotes the study of Australian history in schools and was established in 1995. Registration can be done online and entries close August 2008. For more information about the Challenge and how to enter the competition, visit: www.historychallenge.com.au