Thank you for your interest in serving as a judge for the National History Day in Missouri state contest!
What You Need to Know
Thank 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 at this year's state contest to judge student projects. We also welcome graduate students and select undergraduates to our judging teams.
Check out this quick video to learn more about being a judge, what to expect on contest day, and how to prepare for judging/interviewing students.
The state contest will be held on April 25, 2020 at the University of Missouri-Columbia. To thank you for your essential participation in National History Day in Missouri 2020, we will provide a light breakfast, lunch, and a travel stipend of up to $50 for those whose round trip mileage exceeds 75 miles. Coming to town on Friday or staying through Saturday? Check out NHD hotels.
Judge Orientation
Morning judging begins with orientation, Lakota coffee, and a light breakfast at 8:00 a.m. at the Arts and Science Building and ends at approximately 11:30 a.m. Afternoon judging begins at 1 p.m. and ends at approximately 3:00 p.m. At orientation, we will go over judging details, answer questions, and you will get to meet your fellow judges!
As a judge, you will meet top students from around the state and see the creative ways they present their research findings: through documentaries, exhibits, papers, performances, and websites.
We deeply appreciate your time and the thoughtful feedback that you provide to Missouri students. Thank you for your service!
You can! National History Day in Missouri is looking for educators, historians, writers, filmmakers, museum staff, and community members to join us at this year's state contest to judge student projects. We also welcome graduate students and select undergraduates to our judging teams.
Check out this quick video to learn more about being a judge, what to expect on contest day, and how to prepare for judging/interviewing students.
The state contest will be held on April 25, 2020 at the University of Missouri-Columbia. To thank you for your essential participation in National History Day in Missouri 2020, we will provide a light breakfast, lunch, and a travel stipend of up to $50 for those whose round trip mileage exceeds 75 miles. Coming to town on Friday or staying through Saturday? Check out NHD hotels.
Judge Orientation
Morning judging begins with orientation, Lakota coffee, and a light breakfast at 8:00 a.m. at the Arts and Science Building and ends at approximately 11:30 a.m. Afternoon judging begins at 1 p.m. and ends at approximately 3:00 p.m. At orientation, we will go over judging details, answer questions, and you will get to meet your fellow judges!
As a judge, you will meet top students from around the state and see the creative ways they present their research findings: through documentaries, exhibits, papers, performances, and websites.
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
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Exhibit
Judging Information Packet |
Performance
Judging Information Packet |
Website
Judging Information Packet |
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"I absolutely loved meeting the kids and look forward to judging again next year!" |
Judging the State Contest
Are you judging the preliminary round?
Judging begins at 9 a.m. (after orientation) and concludes at approximately 11:30 a.m. Judging for both the Junior Division (grades 6-8) and the Senior Division (grades 9-12) occurs at the same time. You can choose which division and category you are interested in judging, and you will be paired with at least one other judge, so you can review entries and interview students together. Each judging team evaluates approximately nine entries, choosing the top two or three to advance to finals.
Are you judging the final round?
The final round runs from 1 p.m. to approximately 3:00 p.m. If you are judging finals, you do not interview the students: their work must stand alone. After reviewing these top entries, you decide who will represent the Show-Me state at the National History Day contest in the D.C. area.
Are you judging websites or papers in either round?
Read details below on judging for these two categories.
Judging Websites and Papers
A note on judging websites:
Yes, you can judge websites! Students develop their websites through a specially designed National History Day web portal: NHD Weebly. They can compete as individuals or in groups. The students submit their URLs for these sites as part of the registration process, so judges will be able to access the sites online prior to contest day. The NHD rules require that the websites contain process papers and annotated bibliographies, so there will be no physical paperwork at all. No technical or html knowledge is necessary to judge this category.
Are you judging the preliminary round?
Judging begins at 9 a.m. (after orientation) and concludes at approximately 11:30 a.m. Judging for both the Junior Division (grades 6-8) and the Senior Division (grades 9-12) occurs at the same time. You can choose which division and category you are interested in judging, and you will be paired with at least one other judge, so you can review entries and interview students together. Each judging team evaluates approximately nine entries, choosing the top two or three to advance to finals.
Are you judging the final round?
The final round runs from 1 p.m. to approximately 3:00 p.m. If you are judging finals, you do not interview the students: their work must stand alone. After reviewing these top entries, you decide who will represent the Show-Me state at the National History Day contest in the D.C. area.
Are you judging websites or papers in either round?
Read details below on judging for these two categories.
Judging Websites and Papers
- Preliminary Round: When you sign up to judge websites or papers, you will be paired with a judging partner and introduced via email. Each team will receive a third of the websites or papers (about nine) approximately three weeks before the contest. You will decide, through consensus, on the top two entries in your group and email nhdmo@shsmo.org. These entries will be slotted to advance to finals. However, on contest day, preliminary round judges will have the opportunity to interview each student whose entry they judged. If, based on the interview, your ranking should change, final round judges will be notified.
- Final Round: Final round judges will receive all six of the finalists approximately one week before the state contest. On contest day, final round judges will see if the preliminary round interviews resulted in any changes to the group of finalists. Then they will decide, through consensus, on the final ranking of the entries and determine who will advance to the Kenneth E. Behring National History Day contest to represent the Show-Me state.
A note on judging websites:
Yes, you can judge websites! Students develop their websites through a specially designed National History Day web portal: NHD Weebly. They can compete as individuals or in groups. The students submit their URLs for these sites as part of the registration process, so judges will be able to access the sites online prior to contest day. The NHD rules require that the websites contain process papers and annotated bibliographies, so there will be no physical paperwork at all. No technical or html knowledge is necessary to judge this category.
Visiting Columbia for State Contest
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Where to Stay?
Make your hotel reservations EARLY . . . Columbia hotels are busy in the spring!
2020 Featured Hotels: Stoney Creek Inn 573.442.6400 From $105/night; free Wi-Fi; heated indoor/outdoor swim-through pool; business center; fitness center; Hearth Bar Mention the State Historical Society of Missouri Drury Plaza Hotel Columbia East 573.441.0090 From $109/night; free hot breakfast; free Wi-Fi; free popcorn and soft drinks; pool and fitness center Drury Inn & Suites Columbia 573.445.1800 From $99/night; free hot breakfast; free Wi-Fi; pool and fitness center Mention NHDMO when you make your reservation. |
Where to Park?
Head to the MU parking garages on Hitt, University, Virginia, Conley, and Turner Avenues. These are FREE on Saturdays!
Parking Tips:
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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. |