Chicago Metro History Day

Where Students Make History!

Chicago Metro History Day, formerly known as the Chicago Metro History Fair, is a project-based inquiry program that empowers students to become historians who conduct research and share their conclusions. Guided by their teachers, students in grades six through twelve choose their own topics connected to an annual theme, and then conduct research, analyze sources, make an argument, and finally produce a project to show their work. Students make websites, performances, documentaries, papers, and exhibitions which are evaluated by community volunteers at annual competitions in the Chicago metro area. This rigorous and rewarding program prepares students for high school and college expectations and helps young people become informed, engaged citizens. Come make history with us!

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News and Opportunities

July 18, 2026

National History Day® Announces Silent Hero Opportunity for Teachers and Students in the 2026/2027 School Year

Attention Educators! National History Day® (NHD) is excited to announce an opportunity for teachers to engage with National History Day’s Silent Heroes professional development program in the 2026/2027 academic year, Silent Heroes: Untold Stories of the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard in World War II.

Apply for an opportunity to engage students (minimum of two, maximum of one class) in a special project to research and profile the experiences of two U.S. Navy or Coast Guard Veterans of World War II. Over the course of nine months, student-teacher teams will research the lives of two individuals who served in the US Navy or Coast Guard during World War II, came home, and continued to serve their community, and are currently buried or memorialized in a US National Cemetery or State Veterans Cemetery. This program is sponsored by a grant from the Veterans Legacy Program, part of the US Department of Veterans Affairs.

Apply by August 6, 2026.

Learn More and Apply

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Our Sponsors

Chicago Metro History Day, a program of the Chicago History Museum, is made possible by participating History Day schools and the generosity of area organizations and individual donors. We gratefully acknowledge the financial support provided by the Minow Family Foundation, Peter Ascoli, and The Lawlor Foundation.

Additional programmatic support is provided by the University of Illinois Chicago, Northeastern Illinois University Libraries, Chicago Collections Consortium, and our many prize sponsors. Chicago Metro History Day is a regional affiliate of National History Day.

Support from donors makes it possible for Chicago Metro History Day to reach more than 10,000 students annually from numerous schools in the Chicagoland area. Help us spark a lifelong love of history through this wonderful program.

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