Hands On History: 2018 Student Presentations
Students Teach the Community About Clallam County History
Scroll down to learn more about these students and read their research papers.
2018 Hands On History program participants standing at the reception counter at the History Center Research Library, from left to right: Peter Zelenka, 6th grade; Emaleigh Smith, 8th grade; Maizie Tucker, 9th grade; Raven Taylor, 9th grade; Talia Anderson, 9th grade; Abby Sanders, 9th grade. Not pictured: Cecilia Elana Estrada, 9th grade.
Seven 6th- to 11th-grade students made presentations of their papers on Clallam County history at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, April 15, at Lincoln Center (formerly the Skills Center), 905 W. 9th St., Port Angeles. The presentation event is part of the center's monthly History Tales program.
The event, sponsored by North Olympic History Center, was the culmination of the first year of the “Hands on History” program, in which Clallam County students were asked to submit papers about the county’s history along with a visual display about their subjects.
“The purpose of the program is to educate our citizens about the vivid history of Clallam County,” said Patrick Noonan, the center’s education chair. “Virtually none of us has had a course in county history and our kids are stepping up to correct that.”
The papers presented were: “The Ferries of Lake Crescent” by Peter Zelenka; “The Manis Mastodon Site” by Raven Taylor; “Scandinavian Settlement at Lake Ozette” by Emaleigh Smith; “Minerva Troy” by Cecilia Estrada Elena; “Unleashing the Beast: The Elwha River Restoration Project” by Talia Anderson, Abby Sanders and Maize Tucker.
After opening remarks, the audience met with students to discuss their papers and displays. Judges in the audience, graded the students’ work. Results and scholarships are as follows:
Cecilia Estrada Elana, Senior Division, $1500 Scholarship for project on Minerva Troy
Peter Zelenka, Junior Division, $500 Scholarship for his project on Lake Crescent Ferries
Maizie Tucker, Abby Sanders, Talia Anderson, Junior Division, share a $500 Scholarship for their Elwha Dam Project
Raven Taylor (above) and Emaleigh Smith were each awarded a commendation and a $75 gift cerrtificate to Port Book & News
“This is the first year for Hands on History,” said Noonan. “We plan to repeat the event annually with new topics and more students. We encourage county residents to come out, learn from the kids and support this exciting new program,” he added.
The papers that these students presented were not graded in school, and as presented below are unedited. We are extremely proud of these young people for their hard work, and for their interest in keeping our local history alive! Follow the links below to read the papers presented by these students.
Lake Crescent Ferries, Peter Zalenka.pdf
Lake Ozette, by Emaleigh Smith
Minerva Troy, byCecilia Estrada Elena.pdf
The_Manis Mastodon Site, Raven Taylor.pdf
Unleashing the Beast, Talia Anderson, Abby Sanders, anclad Maizie Tucker.pdf
As part of their research project and presentation "Unleashing the Beast - The Elwha River Restoration Project", Talia Anderson, Abby Sanders and Maizie Tucker also produced a video which can be seen here: The Elwha: A Fight for Cultural and Scientific Rights