Two thousand students in grades 6 through 12 will gather June 14–18, 1998, at the University of Maryland at College Park for the 19th annual National History Day competition. The students, all top finishers in their state competitions, will present research papers, projects, performances, and multimedia displays on the theme of Migration in History: People, Cultures, Ideas. The entries will be judged by professional historians who volunteer their time and talent at the local, state, and national levels. AHA members are encouraged to attend the contest and to support History Day programs at all levels.

Students compete for awards, scholarships, and—sometimes—national recognition. For example, Amma Ghartey-Tagoe, who won the individual performance competition with a presentation of the Amistad slave mutiny at the 1996 national contest, was invited to repeat her performance before an audience of thousands at Mystic Seaport Museum during the keel-laying ceremony for the museum's Amistad schooner (see the report on page 6).

National History Day works to raise interest in history in the schools. The program annually draws more than half a million participants in 48 states and the District of Columbia. Students research history topics of their choice related to a broad annual theme and create exhibits, documentaries, performances, and papers, which they may enter in competitions at the district, state, and national levels. National History Day also provides educational services to students and teachers, including a summer internship program, curricular materials and web resources, and annual teacher workshops and training institutes.

For more information on how you can help young students learn the skills of historians, contact National History Day at 0119 Cecil Hall, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742. (301) 314-9739. Web site: http://www.nationalhistoryday.org/.