History Day History Day is a national program which gives students the opportunity to be historians.  They do in-depth research on a topic related to the theme for the year and produce a project, either a paper, documentary, dramatic interpretation, or exhibit.  The program fits well with the Open School social studies philosophy of demonstrating what you have learned in a project.  There are regional, state and national competitions where students present their research and projects. Open School has been involved in History Day since the late nineties.  Every year a large contingency takes their projects to regional competition, and then several of them move on to State History Day, where a few Open School students have always received Honorable Mentions. Susanne’s high school American History class spends winter trimester working on History Day projects, with several other students usually participating on their own time. In 2006, the Open School projects that were chosen to represent St. Paul at Minnesota History Day were: “Taking a Stand for the Endangered Florida Panther,” Kelly Lee, exhibit “Castro: Taking a Stand Against Capitalism,” Liam Shramko, documentary “Howard Zinn: Taking Stand for History,” Molly Salzberger, exhibit, Honorable Mention at State.  Molly’s exhibit was shown after the state competition at the Hamline Library in a celebration of labor history. “Brown Berets: Taking a Stand for La Raza,” Nikia Davis, Alicia Martinez, and Mai Vang Her, Honorable Mention at State