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Project Examples
Whether you have been creating NHDI projects for a while or are looking at creating your very first project, we have all the tools you need for success. We will guide you through the steps of creating a project, from learning about the annual theme, to research, to designing your project and presenting at a regional contest. You can also take a look at some example projects from previous contest years. See what Indiana students have created in exhibits, performances, documentaries, websites and papers. Use them for inspiration, explore your interests, then begin your own project!
2021
Senior Division
“Propaganda Posters in the Chinese Cultural Revolution” – Chelsea Moran, Carmel High School, 1st Place State Winner
“A Not-So-Silent Spring: How the Concerns Expressed in One Novel Flourished into a Movement” – Claire Swigart and Greta Heyl, Carmel High School, 2nd Place State Winner, Top 20 in Nation at Nationals, Showcased at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History via the Smithsonian Learning Lab
2019
Junior Division
“The Christmas Truce of 1914: How Enemy Soldiers Let Peace Prevail in the Midst of WWI” – Colin Cabellon, Sycamore School, 1st Place State Winner
“Triumph out of Darkness: The Legacy of Louis Braille“, Process Paper, Annotated Bibliography – Raquel Brouwer, Lakeview Middle School, 3rd Place State Winner
“Japanese American Internment: Our Homeland Tragedy”, Process Paper, Annotated Bibliography – Hannah Bradford and Grace Friedberg, Lakeview Middle School, 1st Place State Winners
“The People of the Titanic”, Process Paper and Annotated Bibliography – Jonathan Rogers, Presley Brugh, Ava VanDamme and Cassandra Gamboa, John Young Middle School, 2nd Place State Winners
Senior Division
“Yu Gwan Sun and the March First Movement: The Triumph and Tragedy of Peaceful Resistance”, Process Paper and Annotated Bibliography – Chloee Robison, Brown County High School, 1st Place State Winner
“Doctor Jonas Salk and the Triumph of the Polio Vaccine”, Process Paper and Annotated Bibliography – Rachel Doyle, Warsaw Community High School, 2nd Place State Winner
“Playing God with People’s Lives: Leilani Muir”, Process Paper and Annotated Bibliography – Morgan Ye and Nanditha Kolur, Carmel High School, 1st Place State Winners, 4th in nation at Nationals
“September 11th: The Policies that Changed America”, Process Paper and Annotated Bibliography – Helen Rumsey and Ashley Niebrugge, Columbus North High School, 2nd Place State Winners, exhibited at National Museum of American History
2018
Junior Division
“The Impact of Thermopylae” – Sam Winkler, Eastwood Middle School, 1st Place State Winner
“Eleanor Roosevelt: First Lady of the World” – Kaylee Ochoa and Rachel Doyle, Lakeview Middle School, 1st Place State Winners
“Hamilton’s Plan” – Elena Sullivan, Abby Rahn and Hannah Shapiro, Lakeview Middle School, 2nd Place State Winners
Senior Division
“Compromise for Comfort Girls” – Chloee Robison, Brown County High School, 1st Place State Winner
“WWI: Silent Night” – Joshua Brinkman, Carmel High School, 2nd Place State Winner
“The Nigerian Civil War: The Consequences of Imperialism” – Abigael Mullens and Olivia Krall, Carmel High School, 1st Place State Winners, exhibited at National Museum of American History
2021
Senior Division
“Cicero, Indiana: Ryan White’s Advocacy for Acceptance and Truth”, Process Paper and Annotated Bibliography – Rebecca Piñero, Shortridge High School, 1st Place State Winner, Indiana Local History Prize – Senior Division at State, 10th in Nation at Nationals
“Communicating Roles: The Television Housewife”, Process Paper and Annotated Bibliography – Samantha Ackley and Erin Balaska, Triton Central High School, 1st Place State Winner
2019
Junior Division
“The Freedom Rides of 1961: Makers of Good Trouble”, Process Paper and Annotated Bibliography – Keller Bailey, Ryun Hoffert, Jason Benyousky, Robinson Hoffert and Finn Bailey, Edgewood Middle School, 1st Place State Winners, Top 20 in nation
Senior Division
“Imagine: John Lennon’s Legacy”, Process Paper and Annotated Bibliography – Madeline Steck and Emily Guerrero, DeKalb High School, 1st Place State Winners
2018
Junior Division
“The Conflicts and Compromises of Writer and Civil War Soldier Ambrose Bierce”, Process Paper and Annotated Bibliography – Keller Bailey, Jason Benyousky, Ryun Hoffert and Geoffrey Hochstetler, Edgewood Middle School, 1st Place State Winners, national Civil War History Prize recipients
“The Underground Railroad” – Kelsie Clay, Benjamin Gallher, Alex Hartmann and Francis Miller, Helfrich Park STEM Academy, 2nd Place State Winners
“The Treaty of Versailles: Problematic Compromise Leads to Greater Conflict”, Annotated Bibliography – Grace Zerbel, John Young Middle School, 1st Place State Winner, National Outstanding State Entry Junior Division
“The Missouri Compromise of 1820: The Compromise that Aggravated an Already Impending War”, Process Paper and Annotated Bibliography – Kathryn Habel, John Young Middle School, 2nd Place State Winner
Senior Division
“A Fight for Educational Rights: The Ruby Bridges Story” – Jasmine Bennett and Lata’vian Simmons, Early College High School, 2nd Place State Winners
2023
Junior Division
“Virginia Hall: The Remarkable Woman Who Turned the Tides of World War II”, Process Paper and Annotated Bibliography – Mavis Cropp, Eliza Smiley, Maggie Webber, Center for Inquiry #84, Outstanding State Entry, Junior Division
2021
Junior Division
“Singing for Change: The Power of Music in the Civil Rights Movement”, Process Paper and Annotated Bibliography – Finn Bailey, Caleb Duel, Robinson Hoffert, Wyatt Stapleton, Edgewood Middle School, 1st Place State Winner, 2nd in Nation at Nationals, Showcased at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture
“Sweeping the Clouds Away: How Sesame Street Revolutionized Children’s Television”, Process Paper and Annotated Bibliography – Steve Hackwelder, Sycamore School, 1st Place Winner at State, 10th in Nation at Nationals
Senior Division
“Zitkala-Ša: The Red Bird Who Called for Change”, Process Paper and Annotated Bibliography – Faith Austin, Carmel High School, 2nd Place State Winner, 7th in Nation at Nationals, Eiteljorg Museum Prize for Native Americans at State, Native American History Prize recipient at Nationals
“Flowers and Explosions: How One TV Advertisement Changed the Course of the Political Advertising”, Process Paper and Annotated Bibliography – Ben Boyce, Carmel High School, 1st Place State Winner, Top 20 in Nation at Nationals, Outstanding State Entry Senior Division at Nationals
2019
Junior Division
“Operation Cowboy”, Process Paper and Annotated Bibliography – Sophia Winters, Zionsville Middle School, 1st Place State Winner, 6th in Nation at Nationals, Outstanding State Entry Junior Division at Nationals
“Yesterday, Today…Tomorrow? The KKK in America”, Process Paper and Annotated Bibliography – Lily Nault, Zionsville Middle School, 2nd Place State Winner
“The Triumphs and Tragedies of Title IX: The First Notre Dame Women Athletes”, Title Page Annotated Bibliography Process Paper – Abrielle Flick, Ana DeVries and Sarah Burns, John Young Middle School, 1st Place State Winner, Top 20 in Nation, selected to present at National Museum of African American History and Culture
“Triumph and Tragedy: The Challenger Disaster”, Process Paper and Annotated Bibliography – Charlotte Burbedge, Caroline Johnson, Audrey Wise and Michelle Yuan, Discovery Middle School, 3rd Place State Winner
Senior Division
“Lewis Hine: How One Man Used Photography to Combat Child Labor in America” – Laura Jannetta, North Central High School, 2nd Place State Winner, 8th in Nation at Nationals
“Ernest Shakleton: Overcoming Adversity Through Great Leadership”, Process Paper and Annotated Bibliography – Faith Austin, Carmel High School, 1st Place State Winner, Outstanding State Entry Senior Division at Nationals
“Carole Lombard: The Hoosier Tornado that Swept Through the Nation”, Process Paper and Annotated Bibliography – Emelia Koester and Natalie Suding, Brown County High School, 2nd Place State Winner
2018
Junior Division
“Loving v. Virginia, 1967: The Case that Changed History”, Process Paper and Annotated Bibliography – Tori Harper, Northview Middle School, 2nd Place State Winner
“RFK in Indianapolis: Subverting Conflict with Compassion” – Annadel Benedict and Iris Jordan, Zionsville Middle School, 2nd Place State Winner, selected to present at National Museum of African American History and Culture
Senior Division
“The Evansville Prohibition Conspiracy” – Houston Rogers, Mercutio Reynard, Early College High School, 2nd Place State Winner
2021
Junior Division
“Brown vs. The Board of Education: Communicate to Desegregate” – Arianna Balinnang and Meishara Bohannon, Discovery Middle School, 1st Place State Winner
Senior Division
“Father Theodore Hesburgh: Bridging Communication Barriers for Civil Rights” – Bailey Shidler and Isaac Rentschler, Columbia City High School, 1st Place State Winner, Top 30 in Nation at Nationals
“The Quadruplex Telegraph: Increasing Bandwidth Before the Internet” – Robert Nies, Carmel High School, 1st Place State Winner, Top 20 in Nation at Nationals
2019
Junior Division
A School That Unified a City – Emmett Tuason, Eastwood Middle School, 1st Place State Winner, 10th in Nation at Nationals
The Radium Girls: Triumph and Tragedy in Worker Safety – Rayna Moiz, Sycamore School, 2nd Place State Winner
Senior Division
The Creole Slave Revolt of 1841 – Janani Eswaran, Carmel High School, 1st Place State Winner, 5th in Nation at Nationals
Frances Hamerstrom: Saving the Greater Prairie-Chickens – Grace Hong and Jessica Zhang, Carmel High School, 2nd Place State Winner, 7th in Nation at Nationals
2018
Junior Division
Dorothy Stratton, Leader of the SPARs – Amelia Ringor, Lafayette Central Catholic School, 1st Place State Winner
2021
Junior Division
“Forced to Endure: The Tragic Communication of Actions the Americans Conveyed with the Japanese” – Ishita Masetty, Discovery Middle School, 1st Place State Winner
“How World War II Affected Women in the Workplace” – Sophia Runyan, Discovery Middle School, 2nd Place State Winner
Senior Division
“Shackling Sermons: How the Pseudo-Christian Communication of Proslavery Preachers Fueled the South’s Defense of Slavery” – Abigail Rahn, Warsaw Community High School, 1st Place State Winner, 3rd in Nation at Nationals
“Revolutionary Communication: Thomas Paine and the Forging of a New Political Language” – Hanqi (Steven) Su, Culver Academies, 2nd Place Winner at State
2019
Junior Division
“A Woman and Therefore Not a Citizen” – Fighting for Women’s Suffrage in Indiana – Elisabeth Porter, St. Richard’s Episcopal School, 1st Place State Winner, Top 20 at Nationals
Tragedy and Triumph on the Track: The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race – Sabrina Ackley, St. Richard’s Episcopal School, 2nd Place State Winner
Senior Division
Reporting on the G.I. Joe: Ernie Pyle as America’s Eyewitness to World War II – Josephine Fields, Brown County High School, 1st Place State Winner
William Wilberforce: Triumph Over Britain’s Slave Trade – Abigail Rahn, Warsaw Community High School, 2nd Place State Winner
2018
Junior Division
The Speech that Calmed a City – Liam Eifert, Our Lady of Lourdes, 2nd Place State Winner, 9th in Nation at Nationals
Senior Division
“Do No Harm or Injustice” – Margaret Robinson, North Central High School, 1st Place State Winner, 8th in Nation at Nationals, winner of National Library of Medicine’s History of Medicine Prize
Beyond the Quota: U.S. Policy Towards Jewish Immigrants and Refugees Throughout WWII – Emily Schwartz, North Central High School, 2nd Place State Winner, 5th in Nation at Nationals
