March 4, 2010
How many times did West Virginia’s state capitol move before Charleston became its permanent home?
What is the nationality of the immigrants who settled Helvetia?
The West Virginia Division of Culture and History (WVDCH) is calling all eighth graders to test their West Virginia history knowledge in an exciting new challenge – the West Virginia History Bowl Tournament. Teams of students from around the state will face off in an academic bowl competition that focuses on West Virginia history, literature, arts, architecture, geography and culture.
“The Division of Culture and History, the Archives and History Library and the State Museum are rich with information about our wonderful state,” said Commissioner Randall Reid-Smith of the WVDCH. “This will give eighth grade students another opportunity to explore our state’s heritage by connecting their classroom studies with a fun, competitive experience. The archives and history section supports the Golden Horseshoe program, offering on-line services such as daily trivia questions, quick quizzes and ‘On this Day in History.’ Now that the West Virginia State Museum is open, we have another great opportunity to showcase our state’s history as we do at West Virginia Independence Hall in Wheeling and Grave Creek Mound Archaeological Complex in Moundsville.”
The History Bowl will take place on Tuesday, April 27, at the Culture Center, State Capitol Complex, in Charleston. All public and private schools and home school organizations are invited to submit applications by March 18 for four-person teams of eighth graders. Sixteen teams will be selected by a regionally-based random lottery to participate in the event.
“We’ve selected eighth graders for this challenge since they are studying West Virginia history and preparing for the Golden Horseshoe exam,” said Bryan Ward, assistant director of archives and history. “We think this is an added opportunity for them to demonstrate their knowledge of the state during a year when they are concentrating on our history.” Ward said the questions for the history bowl will be similar to the questions found on the Archives and History quick quizzes and daily trivia questions.
Each team must be sponsored by a school faculty member and include four eighth grade students. Team qualifications, competition rules and application forms are available from the West Virginia Division of Culture and History Web site at www.wvculture.org/historybowl/2010.html.
For more information about the History Bowl competition rules, contact Bryan Ward at (304) 558-0230, ext. 723 and for information about applications, contact Nancy Herholdt at (304) 558-0220, ext. 175.
The West Virginia Division of Culture and History, an agency of the West Virginia Department of Education and the Arts, brings together the state’s past, present and future through programs and services in the areas of archives and history, the arts, historic preservation and museums. Its administrative offices are located at the Culture Center in the State Capitol Complex in Charleston, which also houses the state archives and state museum. The Culture Center is West Virginia’s official showcase for the arts. The agency also operates a network of museums and historic sites across the state. For more information about the Division’s programs, visit www.wvculture.org. The Division of Culture and History is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.
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