1. How to Create a Historical Exhibit

2. WHAT IS AN EXHIBIT?  History exhibits present information about an event, person, place, or idea from the past by physically displaying documents, images, or objects.  In recent years, exhibits have also included interactive activities such as computer games and audiovisual materials to involve their visitors.

4. HOW ARE EXHIBITS DIFFERENT THAN OTHER NHD CATEGORIES?  Three-dimensional  Uses color, images, documents, objects, graphics, and design, as well as words to tell a story  Restricted to the essentials (500 word limit)  Out in the public for everyone to see  Can be interactive

6. EXHIBIT ESSENTIALS  Tell a story: organize chronologically or thematically  Reveal change over time: not only how things changed (or didn’t change), but why  Consider historical perspective: a good exhibit includes documents, photos, and quotes from multiple perspectives  Provide context: illustrate how time and place influenced events  Accurate facts and dates: the foundation of your exhibit

7. SELECTING ITEMS TO PUT ON THE EXHIBIT  Does the item fit with the NHD theme and the theme of your exhibit?  Does the item advance the story you are trying to tell?  Documents should be easy to read and understand  Is the item visually interesting?  Artifacts and interactives should relate directly to the theme of your exhibit

9. EXHIBITION SCRIPT  500 WORD LIMIT (STUDENT WORDS)  CLEAR AND CONCISE  GRAMMAR AND SPELLING ARE PERFECT  EXHIBIT TITLE: Draws attention to how the exhibit fits with the theme  SECTION TITLES: Draws attention to important topics; may be followed by student-written text  DOCUMENT OR DIRECTIONAL LABELS: Identifies and may give details about a specific item

10. A WORD ABOUT QUOTATIONS  DO NOT COUNT IN THE 500-WORD LIMIT  CAN ADD EXCITEMENT AND DRAMA TO YOUR EXHIBIT  USING TOO MANY WILL MAKE YOUR EXHIBIT LOOK CROWDED AND BORING  BE SELECTIVE!!

11. GOOD OR BAD?

15. ONE LAST THING  Process Paper: 500 words or less explaining how and why you chose your topic, how you conducted your research, why you selected the exhibits category, and how your exhibit relates to the NHD theme.  Annotated Bibliography: Cite EVERY source that was useful to you whether or not it was used in your exhibit.

16. NHD RESOURCE WEBSITES  Creating an Entry: http://www.nationalhistoryday.org/CreatingEntry.htm Creating an Entry: http://www.nationalhistoryday.org/CreatingEntry.htm  Creating an Exhibit: Creating an Exhibit: http://www.nhd.org/CategoryExhibit.htm  Examples of Student Projects: http://www.nhd.org/StudentProjectExamples.htm Examples of Student Projects: http://www.nhd.org/StudentProjectExamples.htm  NHD Contest Rule Book: http://www.nationalhistoryday.org/images/uploads/2010ruleb ook.pdf NHD Contest Rule Book: http://www.nationalhistoryday.org/images/uploads/2010ruleb ook.pdf  Annotated Bibliographies: http://www.nationalhistoryday.org/ConductingResearch.htm#a nnobibs Annotated Bibliographies: http://www.nationalhistoryday.org/ConductingResearch.htm#a nnobibs