3 Manatee County history fair students advance to nationals

A project on Nellie Bly by three Manatee School for the Arts students earned them a trip to a national history competition.

The Florida History Fair is an annual, statewide activity that enhances the teaching and learning of history at middle and high school levels. Sponsored by the Museum of Florida History, students spend several months researching a topic and its relation to the annual theme. The 2015-16 theme was “Exploration, Encounter, Exchange in History.”

Manatee County students entered the competition at school, which screened entries according toNational History Day criteria. A total of 182 entries were selected to advance to the county level for another round of judging by community volunteers, guided by Manatee Village Historical Park staff.

This year, 14 projects produced by 24 students were selected to represent Manatee County at Florida History Fair.

In early May, Manatee County State History Fair team members and families competed at Tallahassee Community College over two days. The awards in division categories:

First place Senior Division group performance: “Nellie Bly: Daring Reporter Who Changed the World,” Manatee School for the Arts students Sara Sutton, junior; sophomores Zoe Zimmerman and Adam Fuentes; and eacher Jane Bergin will represent Florida at National History Day in College Park, Md., in June.

Third place Senior Division individual website, “Belgian Congo: Imperialism At Its Peak,” State College of Florida Collegiate School student Mateus Urbanski, sophomore; and teacher LaTonja McNeil-DeCambre

Herald staff report

This story was originally published May 27, 2016 at 10:55 PM with the headline "3 Manatee County history fair students advance to nationals."