Good Vibes Provide Historical Information

Frontier School

A good deal of learning, by students and adults alike, took place during Frontier School’s fifth annual Good Vibes Cafe night on Thursday, Feb. 19.

The evening included a wax museum and various informative demonstrations including websites, documentaries and essays.

Tina Strauser, social studies teacher, explained that the wax museum, featuring historical figures, has as young as fifth-grade students.

“It helps them to start developing their resource skills,” Strauser explained.

Those skills become quite useful when those students move on to compete in National History Day competitions as sixth through eighth graders.

This year’s National History Day students will compete at the regional meet in Dickinson, N.D. The top qualifiers at regional will then advance to the state competition held in Bozeman.

The very top students will then move on to the national event at the University of Maryland.

Strauser said the Frontier’s National History Day students started to work on their projects back in October. Much of the work is done independently during after-school hours.

The teacher explains that all students in grades fourth through eighth work needed to develop a thesis for projects.

“It’s building blocks to develop opinions on historical events,” Strauser said.

National History Day is a nationally recognized academic enrichment program that promotes the study of history in schools. Modeled after science fairs, it encourages students to take a creative approach to studying history, fostering critical thinking and research skills.

Students taking part in the wax museum enjoyed their time sharing information about historical figures.

Kenzley Copenhaver, an eighthgrade student, provided a presentation regarding “Hitler’s Rise to Power.”

Copenhaver said the project took her three weeks to complete. “What interested me was what his motives were,” she explained.

Kyn Paulson showcased a presentation regarding Mike Mansfield. The student found it interesting that Mansfield joined the U.S. Navy during World War I when he was only 14 years old.

Mansfield served in the U.S. Senate from 1953 to 1977, and he was the leader of the Senate Democratic Caucus from 1961-1977.

When Paulson was asked if he might be interested in a political career, he answered, “Maybe.”

Mariah Lewis said she completed her “The North Star” project about the Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad because she wanted to learn more about her culture and slavery.

She also found the different codes involved with the Underground Railroad interesting.