On May 1, two ninth grade students from the Indus School participated at the Minnesota state competition with their Minnesota History Day projects, after they both moved on from the regional event that was held in Red Lake in March.
Both the students competed in the Senior Division. Sofia Olesen, one of the two students, made an exhibit about the Boundary Waters Canoe Area and its preservation and the issues surrounding its inception. The other student, Skye Fuller, made her board on the Kensington rune stone, perhaps a Viking artifact, and the controversy surrounding its authenticity.
The competition was held in the Coffman Memorial Hall at the University of Minnesota’s campus in Minneapolis. Each girl had to present their topic to a panel of judges and then wait patiently for the results. Unfortunately neither girl made it onto the national level of the competition, although Sofia did earn a creativity award for her project and presentation. It was a great experience and both Sofia and Skye said that they learned a lot, both about their subjects but also about what it takes to compete against students from all over the state.
