Special Prize judging will occur BEFORE the contest. In an effort to ensure that each project receives the consideration deserves, all project materials must be uploaded to Zfairs no later than March 27, 2026.
For students competing in the paper, website, and documentarycategories there is no change. These categories must upload their projects approximately two weeks before the contest.
To be considered for a Special Prize, students competing in the exhibit category must:
upload their written materials (process paper and annotated bibliography)
upload one, high-resolution photograph of their exhibit
To be considered for a Special Prize, students in the performance category must:
upload their written materials (process paper and annotated bibliography)
upload a copy of their script
Official Vermont History Day Special Prize List
Students and teachers may nominate their project for up to three special prizes at Vermont History Day. Before nominating your project for a special prize consider the following:
How does my project best represent this prize?
What part of my research am I most proud of?
Make sure to include detail about your research and analysis of your topic in your special prize nomination!
The Preservation Trust of Vermont will award prizes for a superior entry focused on historic buildings, architectural history, and building technology in Vermont. The money will be distributed evenly among group members.
First Place $100
Second Place $50
Sponsored by Brenda and Stephen Perkins
The Arts and Medicine Prize of $100 is awarded to an outstanding Junior Division project that focuses on a person who has contributed in some way to the fine arts and/or the medical field. Priority is given to projects focusing on a remarkable Vermonter. This prize is sponsored in order to celebrate those who have impacted the lives of others by their approach to and accomplishments in their chosen field of arts and/or medicine. The money will be distributed evenly among group members.
The Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation will award $250 to a first-place winner for an outstanding entry on a United States history topic. The money will be distributed evenly among group members.
The Friends of the Vermont State House will award prizes to the projects that best express the spirit of the Vermont motto - Freedom and Unity - as practiced in an open government and with civic engagement for all people. A prize of $200 will be awarded to one project in each age division, junior and senior. Recipients will also receive a certificate and a guided tour of the Vermont State House. The money will be distributed evenly among group members.
This prize is awarded in memory of two civics education advocates, Bill Haines and Jack Carter.
Sponsored by the Vermont Historical Society through the George F. Edmunds Fund
The George F. Edmunds Memorial Prize honors the work and memory of George F. Edmunds, Vermont’s senator from 1866 to 1891. A monetary prize and engraved medal are awarded to superior projects reflecting on the life and work of George F. Edmunds or relating to the history, problems, or general welfare of Vermont. Students earn recognition for finding unappreciated primary sources and for using their own interests and experiences as launching points. The money will be distributed evenly among group members. Each winner will receive an engraved medal.
Junior Division
First Place $350
Second Place $150
Senior Division
First Place $350
Second Place $150
Sponsored by Terry Buehner
The International Studies Award will recognize the most outstanding entries that connect the National History Day annual theme to an international person or event. There will be two prizes awarded (First and Second place) in each division (Senior and Junior) with prize amounts based on the type of project (individual or group).
Junior Division
First Place $125 (Ind) or $200 (Group)
Second Place $75 (Ind) or $100 (Group)
Senior Division
First Place $125 (Ind) or $200 (Group)
Second Place $75 (Ind) or $100 (Group)
Sponsored by the Vermont LGBTQ History Project
The Vermont LGBTQ History Project will award a prize for an outstanding entry presenting research recognizing the role of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people within Vermont history, United States history or world history. The prize for a winning entry will be $250, with money distributed evenly among group members.
The Lost Mural Project will award two projects in the junior and senior divisions. The projects must focus on the history of immigration at the local or state level. The Lost Mural is representative of an art form that was once prevalent in Eastern Europe and is a rare surviving example of a painted wall mural in a synagogue The Lost Mural Project is dedicated to educating the public about the Lost Mural, the Burlington immigrant Jewish Community, (formerly called “Burlington’s Little Jerusalem”), and all immigrant groups who have found a home either in our region or across the state. Special consideration is given to projects that focus on art that is representative of Vermont’s immigrant history.
The Mollie Beattie Memorial Prize of $200 (to bedistributed evenly among group members) is awarded to an outstanding project focusing on the natural world. In addition to adhering to the annual theme, the entry could address topics including, but not limited to, preservation of wildlands, protection of fish and wildlife habitat, biodiversity, and support for threatened species. The prize is awarded in honor of Mollie Beattie, a conservationist, Vermonter, and the first woman to lead the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. VNRC also preserves Mollie’s legacy through an annual summer internship that bears her name.
Photo from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
About Mollie Beatie:
Mollie Beattie earned an M.S. in forestry from the University of Vermont and embarked on a long and impactful career in environmental stewardship. In 1985, Vermont governor Madeleine Kunin appointed Mollie as head of the Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation. From there, Mollie worked as the deputy secretary at the Agency of Natural Resources and the Executive Director of the Richard A. Snelling Center for Government. In 1993, President Bill Clinton appointed Mollie as Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Mollie established legacies as the department’s first woman director, and through the reintroduction of the grey wolf to Yellowstone National Park and the establishment of fifteen new wildlife refuges nationwide. In 1996, Mollie passed away from a brain tumor at the age of 49. The environmental community universally mourned her passing. To honor her many contributions to environmental stewardship, an 8,000,000-acre wilderness in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, and a Vermont State Park near her home in Grafton both bear her name. Mollie once wrote, “What a country chooses to save is what a country chooses to say about itself”; these words, like her work, still hold true today.
Sponsored by Norwich University
The Norwich University Military History Prize of $100 recognizes an outstanding Vermont History Day project on military history. This research field can include any time, place, or topic relating to warfare. A military historian may be someone who explores the decisions of commanding officers or the feats of soldiers in battle. The field could examine the experiences of men and women in uniform, or the influence of politics and culture on the armed forces. Military history also looks at populations who waged war, endured hardships, and reckoned with the aftermath of wars. Students should study military history in their quest to become engaged and informed citizens, who consider and question the use of military force – in the past, present, and future. With this goal in mind, this prize will be awarded for the best Vermont History Day project in military history.
The Vermont Truth and Reconciliation Commission was created by Legislative Act 128 in 2022, and formalized in 2023. The Commission’s work involves researching the past in a manner that allows us to understand the laws that allowed unequal and harmful treatment of particular groups of people. We research the past to understand how to create a better future for all Vermonters. We search for truth. The Commission focuses on the following communities:
Black Community
French Canadians
LGBTQ
Disabled
Native Americans
Other communities decided by the Commission.
The TRC is awarding $100 and a certificate for the selected project centered on Vermont History that best reflects the work of the commission with a focus on examining wrongs of the past. The selected project should consider multiple perspectives and include a restorative analysis.
Sponsored by the Vermont Historical Society
The Vermont History Award of $300 is presented to an entry in each age division, senior and junior, for demonstrated excellence in the use of primary sources for researching a Vermont history topic. In addition to the monetary award, the winning student(s) will receive a publication about Vermont history. The award will be distributed evenly among group members.
The Vermont State Archives and Records Administration will award prizes to projects that demonstrate outstanding use of primary sources, particularly Vermont primary sources. The money will be distributed evenly among group members.
First Place $125
Second Place $75
Sponsored by Patricia Passmore Alley in memory of Helen Vrooman Passmore
The Women’s History Award is presented to the best project focusing on the contributions of a woman or women in history. The recipient of this award will receive $250. The award will be distributed evenly among group members.
Vermont Humanities recognizes the dedication and value of individualized learning through the Vermont History Day Contest. This award recognizes one teacher or teacher team who has gone above and beyond for their students. The award of $500 will be divided equally between all recipients.
A teacher with a high student participation in Vermont History Day and dedication to the program will win a free, self-guided class visit to Shelburne Museum during the Museum’s 2026 season, which will run from mid-May to late October. Please contact School & Youth Programs Educator Sara Wolfson to schedule your visit: education@shelburnemuseum.org or 802-985-0922
The Coolidge Foundation offers a free History Exploration Visit for one class (up to 30 students) to the President Calvin Coolidge State Historic Site in Plymouth, Vermont.
