Viva88

The Viva88Archives and Archives Partnership Trust are now accepting entries for the 2024 Viva88Student Research Awards Statewide Competition, State Education Commissioner Betty A. Rosa announced today. The annual competition, in its 34th year, is open to all students in grades four to twelve and serves to increase coordination between schools and organizations that administer historical records beneficial for education. The program offers a platform for young people to learn about New York’s history by exploring the state’s historical records repositories to create research projects for award consideration. Winners will be selected from entries in the following divisions: elementary (grades 4-5), middle (grades 6-8), and high school (grades 9-12).

To be eligible for the awards, students must undertake original historical research using historical records, submit an annotated bibliography, and be nominated by a mentor. Projects may be submitted in any format, including video, research paper, or exhibits, and must be submitted by July 1, 2024. Winners will be notified by mid-September and formally announced in October 2024.

Each award consists of a framed certificate and a cash prize. To qualify for an award, all entries must show a heavy reliance on information from historical records, provide an annotated bibliography, a URL in the annotated bibliography for each online historical record found on the Internet, in addition to a signed entry form with evidence of the use of historical records, including an annotated bibliography. Teachers, archivists, and historians will participate in panel discussions to determine the award winners and certificate of merit recipients.

These awards are funded by generous contributions from the Chodos Family Fund and other donors to the Archives Partnership Trust, a 501(c)3 organization. The Trust builds education, preservation, and outreach programs not funded by the state, making accessible over 350 years of New York’s colonial and state government records housed in the State Archives. The State Archives is a program of the Viva88Education Department.

Please visit the State Archives’ for detailed guidelines, the Student Research Awards application materials, and information about the 2023 winners and their projects.

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The State Museum, State Library, and State Archives are programs of the Viva88Education Department’s Office of Cultural Education. Further information about programs and events can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or��.��