The Spotlight Award ($500 award) will be presented to a 12th-grade student who has participated in NHD-OC for a minimum of three (3) years including their senior year and is planning to attend college in the fall.

The student's NHD-OC coach must make a nomination for the award. A Coach may only nominate one student. Members of the NHD-OC Team will select the honoree, and the winner will be announced at the annual NHD-OC Awards Ceremony.

The student nominated for this award should demonstrate academic excellence, outstanding leadership, persistence, and strong care and concern for others. The nominee should also be someone committed to not only working hard individually but who also takes responsibility for motivating and leading others to achieve their personal best. To nominate a student, please click the Nomination Form (coming soon)​.

Elementary Group Poster, Junior Group Exhibit, and Senior Group Exhibit entries are eligible to earn the California Global Education Project Award for Global Citizenship. Winners will be awarded $100 to share with group members.  Winners will be selected based on the following criteria:

• Must discuss or address issues of global significance as identified by the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
• Must consider different perspectives.
• Must involve two or more countries, one of which may be the U.S.
• Must consider past or current actions taken to address the issue.
• Designs are aesthetically pleasing, with easily readable text or font size, and images relevant to the topic and serve a purpose.
• Fundamental points of the project should be clearly identified, with little redundancy of information.
• Creativity is encouraged.

Please complete this Nomination form. Nominations are due February 9, 2024. 

From 1890 to present day, the Pacific Southwest region (southern California, Arizona, and northern Mexico) has undergone an amazing transformation. Water, agriculture, mineral rights (gas and oil), transportation, land development, military, and population growth contributed to the quick growth of the Pacific Southwest. Sherman Library invites you to create a documentary exploring a topic of your choice (or the ones listed here) related to the development of the region. 

Junior Group Documentaries are eligible to earn the Sherman Library & Gardens Award for Regional History Research. Winners will be awarded $500 to be shared by the group plus a family membership for each member of the group. Winners will be selected based on the following criteria:​

• Regional or local history topic
• Originality of the research
• Use of primary sources
• Quality of presentation

Please complete this Nomination form.​ Nominations are due February 9, 2024.

Your NHD Project could win $10,000! The Lowell Milken Center, a strong supporter of the NHD program, offers an annual competition in which NHD students across the country submit their projects for consideration in the Center's Discovery Award.

Who's eligible? Grades 6-12.

What categories? Documentary, Exhibit, Performance, and Webiste.

Requirements? Projects must emphasize Unsung Heroes in History.

• First Place entry will receive $10,000 along with special recognition
• Second Place entry will receive $3,000 and a special mention on the Center website
• Third Place entry will receive $1,000 and a special mention on the Center website.

Please contact the Lowell Milken Center for more information at www.lowellmilkencenter.org.

Documentaries that cherish and respect the lessons of the Holocaust are eligible to receive the Holocaust Education Center Remembrance and Education: Voice Against Darkness Documentary Award.

Groups will receive $200 to share with group members; individuals will receive $100. Winners will be selected based on the following criteria:​

• The project must be based on the topic of the Holocaust; i.e., a Holocaust survivor or rescuer or event of the Holocaust.
• The project must be based on a variety of primary and secondary sources.
• The project describes people and events in the past in ways that are respectful and accurate.
• The project explains the historical significance of the topic researched.
• The project embodies the theme, Turning Points in History.

Documentaries that are nominated meet the following qualifications:

• Evidence is given from multiple perspectives.
  
• Evidence is explored in a visually appealing and tasteful manner.

All students contributing to the topic of the Holocaust will be invited to a Screening Event at the Holocaust Education Center in Newport Beach on March 18, 2024.

Please complete this Nomination form. Nominations are due February 9, 2024.

Contact the Orange County Holocaust Education Center for more information by visiting the OC Holocaust Museum website.​

The Yosemite Invitation allows each county to advance one project from up to three new schools to the NHD-CA state competition.

The qualifications are:

• Your school must not have a winning project advancing from the county competition.
• Your school must have not participated in NHD within the last five contest years.
• As the teacher, you must be new to NHD.
• Entries for consideration are in either the Junior (grades 6-8) or Senior (grades 9-12) divisions.
• Only one project per school is eligible.
• You as the teacher must commit to attending and judging at NHD-CA.

Selected entries will compete on the same level as all other entries attending NHD-CA, including the opportunity to represent NHD-CA at the NHD contest in Maryland.

Invitations will be sent to new schools/coaches in February.

Group websites that embrace and embody the traits of "The Pioneer Spirit" are eligible to receive the Moulton Award. Winners will be awarded $200 to share with group members. Nominees will be selected based on the following criteria:​

• The project must be visually appealing and based on a variety of primary and secondary sources.
• The project addresses issues that many people in the com​munity find important today, e.g. environment. 
• The project describes people in the past in ways that are respectful and accurate.
• The project explains the historical significance of the topic researched.

At the Moulton Museum, we believe one should dream big, persevere, work hard, care about people and community, and cherish the land and environment around you. Learn more at moultonmuseum.org​.

Please complete this Nomination form​ (one per entry).​ Nominations are due February 9, 2024.​

• Are you NHD alumni?
• Are you currently a Junior in college?
• Are you at least 18 years of age?
• Do you love history?

If you answered Yes to all of the above, you should apply for the NHD Internship during this year's National History Day Contest in College Park, Maryland.

Sacrifice for Freedom®: World War II in the Pacific Student & Teacher Institute, sponsored by the Pearl Harbor Historic Site partners, provides an exceptional opportunity for 16 student/teacher teams to study World War II in the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawai'i, in summer 2024.

Past teacher participants noted that the Institute was a significant professional development experience that changed the way they viewed World War II in the Pacific. Student participants reported that the research and Hawaiʻi-based learning activities challenged their thinking and expanded their perspective of history.

Applications are now being accepted for the 2024 Sacrifice for Freedom®: World War II in the Pacific Student & Teacher Institute. Program and travel fees are paid by the Pearl Harbor Historic Site partners.

Applications​ are due November 27, 2023. To learn more and apply, visit nhd.org/sff2024​.