Thank you for your interest in serving as a judge for the National History Day in Missouri state contest!​

Volunteer judges are vital to the contest, offering feedback to middle and high school students on their creative projects and helping top finishers prepare for the national contest. NHDMO's five competitive categories—documentary, exhibit, paper, performance, and website—offer something for everyone!


​What You Need to Know

PictureThank you for sharing your time and expertise!
Who Can Be a Judge?
You can!  National History Day in Missouri is looking for educators, historians, writers, filmmakers, museum staff, and community members to join us for this year's state contest to judge student projects. We also welcome graduate students and select undergraduates to our judging teams.

The 2025 NHDMO state contest will be in-person at the University of Missouri-Columbia. 

ALL judges must be able to attend the state contest in person on April 26, 2025 (tentative date) to interview students and finalize rankings.

Judging assignments will tentatively be announced on April 1, 2025. 

You can check out the category rules videos to learn more about each.

​We deeply appreciate your time and the thoughtful feedback that you provide to Missouri students. Thank you for your service!
"What impressed me most about these young students was their combination of history knowledge and personal initiative"
​—NHDMO judge
"It was a great experience to see so many talented students interested in history."
​—NHDMO judge
"I absolutely loved meeting the kids and look forward to judging again next year!"
​—NHDMO judge

"The documentaries included genuine interviews with experts and community leaders in various fields. I was amazed at the initiative required by these students to put themselves out there in order to make these interviews work.”
​—NHDMO judge

“It is such a joy to see young people loving history and having fun.” 
 —NHDMO judge

Visiting Columbia

Where to Stay?
Make your hotel reservations EARLY . . . Columbia hotels are busy in the spring!  

Featured Hotels:
Stoney Creek Inn 
573.442.6400

​Drury Plaza Hotel Columbia East
573.441.0090

Drury Inn & Suites Columbia
573.445.1800
Where to Park?
Head to the MU parking garages on Hitt, University, Virginia, Conley, and Turner Avenues. These are FREE on Saturdays!

Parking Tips:
  • You may also park on campus lots on Saturdays, except at residence halls.
  • Please note that Columbia does enforce metered parking on Saturday, so if you want to park in a metered zone, bring quarters!
Where to Eat?
There are numerous restaurant choices close to the University of Missouri campus. Explore the options in the District here.

Additionally, there are some on-campus dining options at the MU Student Center and Memorial Student Union. Check their Saturday hours for availability.