March 21, 2017

Regional history fair is Saturday

by Andrea Hahn

CARBONDALE, Ill. – Hundreds of high school and junior high school students from across the region will visit Southern Illinois University Carbondale to explain what “Taking a Stand in History” means to them. 

That’s the theme for National History Day, the umbrella under which the Southern Illinois Regional History Fair takes place. This year’s event is on Saturday, March 25, in the Student Center ballrooms. Registration begins at 8 a.m.


Media Advisory

Reporters, photographers and camera crews are welcome to cover the Southern Illinois Regional History Fair on March 25. Contact Jonathan Wiesen for participating schools in your target area. He may be reached at jwiesen@siu.edu or at 618/453-7873.


This year’s fair has a record number of performances, which will be historical scenes or themes acted out by a group of students. Performances are open to the public and begin at 9 a.m. and will continue past noon. 

Participating students will come from the area of Illinois south of a line roughly from Madison and Bond counties across to Lawrence and Richland counties. Students with top projects at this event may go on to compete at Illinois History Day in Springfield on May 4. And some of the top projects there will go on to represent Illinois at National History Day in mid-June. 

SIU history students contribute to judging the events, giving them a chance to see what topics motivate high school and junior high school students, and how these students approach and grasp the material they use. 

The Illinois Historic Preservation Agency and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum sponsor this statewide event.