In 2006/2007, The History Channel awarded $250,000 in grants of up to $10,000 to 27 history organizations across the country in partnership with schools and/or youth groups.

We congratulate winners for their extraordinary efforts in saving their local history. We encourage you to read the descriptions of their projects below.

Atlanta History Center, Atlanta, GA: Bolton Academy Hands On History Project, in partnership with 400 students from Bolton Academy, will facilitate two living history day festivals and use primary and secondary resources to educate students and community members about the unique history of the Bolton community in Atlanta. Students will create a timeline of local history illustrated with photographs and documents drawn from their research. A display case with key artifacts and photographs will be permanently installed in a museum display case in the school lobby and a hand-crafted student textile panel, incorporating the symbols of the nation and the state of Georgia, will be exhibited in the school lobby. Following the student program, museum educators will compile a curriculum for local teachers on how to replicate their model of school wide community events celebrating local history.

Austin Public Library, Terrazas Branch, Austin, TX: The Magic of Metz 90th Anniversary Celebration, As one of the few elementary schools in America that has served several generations of Mexican American children, Metz Elementary will partner with the Austin Public Library to celebrate their 90th anniversary by studying, documenting and preserving the history of their school through a variety of activities and student projects. Students will participate in an architectural art project, collect oral histories from former school alumni, write poems about their experiences at Metz, create an art mural, script and perform an Opera with the history of their school as the theme, and, finally, combine footage of their various activities into a documentary video.

Billings Farm & Museum, Woodstock, VT: Heros of the Herd, in collaboration with 25 fourth and fifth grade students from Barnard Central School, will teach students about the deep-rooted agricultural traditions in their area through an examination of the history of the Billings herd and the families and farming community that developed it. Students will participate in on-site visits, research, and oral history interviews, creating ""family trees"" for the Billings herd and writing essays. Student's compilation of oral history interviews and research papers will be added to the Museum's historical archive, which will be available to the general public online.

Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, Birmingham, AL: Living History: Lessons from the Children's Movement, Students at Banks Middle School in Birmingham, AL will collaborate with the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute to study and research the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham, and the specific role of children and students in the Movement. Students will conduct and interpret oral history interviews with adults who were children and students during the Movement. Their research will be used as the basis for a booklet with interview summaries, essays, poems and short stories that reflect on the experience. The students' experience as researchers will also be recorded and edited into a 30-minute program that will be aired on a local cable broadcast.

Caldwell County Historical Society, Princeton, KY: Save Our 1926 African American School: Engaging Students and the Community Through Restoration, Preservation and Education, The Caldwell County Historical Society and the Caldwell County School System will lead this community project, focusing on researching, documenting, restoring, preserving and creating a permanent educational and historical resource from one of two remaining African American schools in the county. Students will be involved in the physical restoration of the building, as well as the collection of oral histories, the making of a documentary film about the site, and the creation of exhibits and brochures about the site.

Center for American Archeology, Kampsville, IL: Schumann Cemetary Recording Project, The Center for American Archeology, Calhoun High School and Carrollton High School will collaborate on a community-based historic cemetery preservation and recording project, designed to educate students about the historic Schumann Cemetery, one of the oldest cemeteries in the region. Students will conduct oral histories with community residents, map and record information from the cemetery, and conduct research on those interred there. Upon completion of the project, students will present the results of their efforts to the community.

Concordia University, St. Paul, MN: Hmong Immigration to St. Paul, As the American city with the largest concentration of Hmong people, St. Paul has changed as a result of the Hmong immigration. The Minnesota Historical Society, in conjuction with Concordia University history students, will train and equip Hmong high school students to interview Hmong elders in the community and preserve their memories concerning Hmong culture, the Secret War in Laos, their escape to Thai refugee camps, and their migration to the United States. Digital and video copies of interviews, in addition to full text transcripts will be made available at the Concordia Center for Hmong Studies, the Immigration History Research Center and the Minnesota Historical Society.

Days of '76 Museum Deadwood, SD: The Cowboy is an Indian: Recovering Indian History at the Days of '76, working with the Rapid City School District's Department of Indian Education and Black Hill State University?s Department of Indian Studies. This project will give American Indian high school students the opportunity to document the American Indian participation in the Days of '76 Celebration in Deadwood. Students will focus their research efforts on the impact of rodeo on the American Indian Community. Working with the raw data at the museum on the history of the Days of '76 celebration and the rodeo archives, and conducting oral histories in Rapid City and the Pine Ridge Reservation, students will help develop a permanent exhibit within the Days of '76 Museum.

Gaslamp Quarter Historical Foundation San Diego, CA: Building on History: A Child's View of the Architechture of the Gaslamp Quarter of San Diego, The Gaslamp Quarter Historical Foundation will partner with the San Diego School District to involve all students in grades 2 - 5 in a study of the San Diego downtown historical area known as the Gaslamp Quarter. Students will be introduced to the concepts of the creativity of architecture and its relationship to historical eras through in-depth tours, site visits, research and in class activities. Following their research, students will design model buildings, representing significant buildings within the Gaslamp Quarter. The finished product will be their own model ""historic district"" which will be placed on display at the William Heath Davis House Museum, a focal point of the Gaslamp Quarter.

Glasco Community Foundation Glasco, KS: Mining the Cemetary for Civil War Legacy, The 7th grade class at Glasco Grade School will partner with Glasco Community Foundation to trace the history of the 98 Civil War veterans who are buried in Glasco cemetery. Students will start at the cemetery, locating and photographing all Civil War veterans' grave markers and work with volunteers from collaborating organizations to find supporting documentation and any living family members in Glasco. From their research, students will create maps that trace the origin and fighting units of the veterans, a pictorial directory of the gravestones and their locations, and a written anthology of family histories, to be preserved at the city library.

Historical Society of Baltimore County Hunt Valley, MD: Threads of Baltimore County, Oral History Project, Baltimore County Public School students in grade 5 will conduct oral history research pertaining to the communities associated with their local school, led by a master oral historian associated with the Historical Society of Baltimore County. Students will also conduct research to locate and analyze primary and secondary sources that support the oral histories, including documents, photographs and artifacts. Final products include a student produced book of collected histories and oral history interviews (in both CD and DVD format), and will become part of a developing collection of community-based historical documentation that will be available to all members of the Oral History Consortium of Baltimore County.

History Ink Seattle, WA: Whatcom Territorial Courthouse Heritage Project, 11th and 12th grade students from Sehome High School will research and document the history that unfolded in the T.G. Richards Building, which served as the county courthouse during most of the territorial years (1863-1887). Students will use original court records, archival photographs, contemporary accounts and other primary evidence in the Washington State Archives to prepare and illustrate 20 or more essays for historylink.org, the online encyclopedia of Washington State History, and to research, assemble and document artifacts from the territorial period for two ""History on Wheels"" traveling exhibit trunks for use by elementary and middle school students.

Indiana State Museum Foundation Indianapolis, IN: In Our Own Words: Immigration in the US, 30 students will participate in an exploration of the history of immigration in the United States, with a specific focus on immigration within Indianapolis. Students will work with experts from the Indiana State Museum to learn how to conduct oral histories, then conduct interviews with elder Indianapolis residents with personal immigration stories. From their research and interviews, students will work with museum staff to create a script, culminating in a performance of a play, titled "In Our Own Words: Immigration in the U.S."

Lehigh County Historical Society Allentown, PA: Reclaiming a Lost Heritage: African-Americans in the Lehigh Valley, 9th and 10th grade students from Emmaus High School and the Lehigh Career and Technical Institute, in collaboration with the Lehigh County Historical Society, will research the local African American community, develop and install an exhibit, as well as create audiovisual, walking tour and website materials. Students' work will culminate in an exhibit opening within their community, where their final projects, tracing the African American experience in Lehigh from slavery through present day, will become permanent resources in the Lehigh County Historical Society library.

Maine Folklife Center Orono, ME: Historical Preservation Project: Eastern Fine Paper Company 1880-2003, Students from Brewer Middle School, led by the Maine Folklife Center, will study the history of the pulp and paper industry in Maine, and how the ultimate loss of this industry profoundly affected the workers and the community as a whole. With a focus on the Eastern Fine Papers mill in Brewer, students will conduct oral histories with former workers and community members about the mill's impact on their lives both during it's operation and after it's closing. Students will develop a website, create a timeline of the mill, and write a storyline of the papermaking process. Finally, students will help create history boxes filled with objects, documents and photos relating to the mill with lesson plans that will travel to schools around the state.

Minnesota Historical Society St. Paul, MN: Minnesota's Greatest Girls, This project will pair ten girls with ten women who are members of "Minnesota's Greatest Generation," a group of seniors born between 1910-1929, to create a film that explores "coming of age" across generations. The Minnesota Historical Society and TVbyGIRLS will provide materials and guidance to the young girls for research on life in the 1930's and 1940's as well as oral history techniques. This project will build on the successes of TVbyGIRLS, an innovative, Minneapolis-based organization that partners with girls to develop self-expression and critical-thinking skills in the service of film and TV projects. The finished film will be posted on the web, screened at the "Minnesota's Greatest Generation" film festival, and entered into various film festivals nationwide.

Museum of Early Trades and Crafts (METC) Madison, NJ: Luke Miller Colonial Forge Preservation Project, Students from Madison High School in New Jersey will partner with the Museum of Early Trades & Crafts to research the preservation and restoration of the historic Luke Miller forge, which was used by George Washington's officers and troops during the Revolutionary War and was recently saved from demolition by the Borough of Madison. Students will research the Luke Miller family, the homestead, and the forge, compile a report from their work, identify pieces of the Museum's collection for placement in the restored forge, and create a 20 minute educational video about the forge for the community."

National Great Blacks In Wax Museum Baltimore, MD: Digitally Preserving the Life of Frederick Douglass, a Local Baltimorian, The National Great Blacks In Wax Museum will partner with fifty students from Frederick Douglass High School and collaborate with The Juxtopia Group, Inc. to comprehensively study, document, create computer digital artifacts, and digitally archive history on Frederick Douglass. Students will research his life through site visits and document research, and will work to create computer models of Frederick Douglass and associated historical artifacts. Students will also learn professional digital curation processes for archiving and documenting digital historical artifacts for online accessibility.

Nordic Heritage Museum Seattle, WA: Nordic Nets and Navigation: Ballard's Maritime History, The Nordic Heritage Museum will partner with 30 high school juniors from Ballard High School's Maritime Academy to research and document the Nordic maritime history of Ballard and its importance to the development of the area. During the first semester, students will conduct oral history interviews of Ballard residents either currently or previously active in Nordic maritime industries. Students will produce a video documentary from their interviews. In the second semester, students will research and procure objects and images documenting local maritime organizations in order to develop a maritime outreach trunk for the museum to lend to other schools and groups interested in the Nordic Maritime history of Ballard.

Orion Historical Society Lake Orion, MI: Howarth Schoolhouse Historic Preservation Project, Students from Upland Hills School will work with the Orion Historical Society to rescue and relocate the last remaining one-room schoolhouse in Orion Township. Students will work in teams with adults to salvage stone, re-build a fieldstone foundation, and prepare the building to be relocated. Upland Hills School students will also work with Lake Orion High School students assigned to special projects with Orion Township Library and Orion Neighborhood TV. They will also conduct oral histories, do research, study schoolhouse archaeological artifacts, create a local history guide for younger students, and digitally preserve the project through photography and the production of a documentary DVD.

Shields-Ethridge Heritage Farm Foundation Jefferson, GA: Shields - Ethridge Heritage Farm - A Step Back in Time, A group of students from Jackson County Comprehensive High School will be identified as "Farm Fellows" and will document, preserve, interpret and promote the Shields-Ethridge Farm Foundation, a National Historic District. Students will produce an introductory video on the foundation to be shared with the community, prepare two interpretive panels for the new Visitor's Center, create a diorama and a timeline, and complete an interpretive visual display for the museum based on their research of the farm. Through their research and work with Shields-Ethridge, students will help preserve the history of cotton farming and farm life in Jackson County over the past 200 years.

Town of Manzanola Manzanola, CO: Manzanola Historic Train Depot, Students involved in a current rehabilitation project of the Manzanola Depot, a National Register property, will expand their involvement in the project by partnering with the Town of Manzanola to gather oral histories of elderly local residents who worked on the Santa Fe Railroad. Students will recieve oral history training and document their interviews in written, recorded and photographic formats. Final products will include a hardcover book, a museum exhibit to be located in the restored Depot, and an archive of student work at the Otero County History Museum and the Western History Collection of the Denver Public Library.

West Florida Historic Preservation, Inc. Pensacola, FL: Unearthing Pensacola's Heritage: Creating a District-Wide Educational Fieldtrip for Middle School Students, Students from the Escambia School District will work with staff and faculty from the University of West Florida, Florida Public Archaeology Network, and West Florida Historic Preservation, Inc. to revitalize the Colonial Archeology Trail in Pensacola through the physical restoration of archeological sites, the creation of an associated pamphlet and activity book and the production of a "virtual field trip." The Colonial Archeology Trail consists of seven markers and covers an area where the British Fort of Pensacola was located. Students will work with the partnering organizations to create a series of educational units that follow the Trail as it intersects with Historic Pensacola Village. The final product will be an activity book that summarizes the area's history and provides an overview of the Trail's importance.

Western Maryland Interpretive Association Sharpsburg, MD: Sherrick Farm Preservation Project, Western Maryland Interpretive Association, the association for Antietam National Battlefield, will lead students from Boonsboro High School in a preservation project to restore the historic Sherrick Farm at Antietam Battlefield. Sherrick Farm is one of the few remaining structures that stood on the grounds where the Battle of Antietam was fought on September 17, 1862 - the bloodiest day in American history. After studying the history of Sherrick Farm, students will script and act in a Public Service Announcement encouraging viewers to request an information packet on Sherrick Farm, which will be developed by the students using knowledge acquired from the project.

White House Historical Association Washington, DC: President's Park/Citizen's Soapbox: A History of Protest at the White House, 12 High School Seniors will work with the White House Historical Association to explore more than a century of public expression in Lafayette Park, the front yard of our chief executive. Students will research the history of protests and events in this park and conduct interviews with political scientists, historians, journalists and participants in former protests to create an audio tour and a website tracing the history of Lafayette Park. The tour will be available for MP3 download at the website, which will also tell the story through photographs and a media presentation.

Wistariahurst Museum Holyoke, MA: Celebrating the History of Puerto Ricans in Holyoke, Youthbuild students in Holyoke, Massachusetts will work with the Wistariahurst Museum to explore the history of the Puerto Rican community in Holyoke. Students will interview Puerto Rican residents of all ages to showcase the contribution of Latinos (who make up about 49% of the community's population) in Holyoke and their larger relationship to the community and nation. Students will contribute to the creation of a new exhibit dedicated to Latino culture within the museum by providing oral histories, documents, photographs, artwork and music. The opening of the exhibit will be incorporated into a weeklong celebration of the project, with each day focusing on a different aspect of Latino culture.

Wyoming Territorial Prison State Historic Site Laramie, WY: Unlocking the Secrets in the Soil, Middle School students in Laramie will work with University of Wyoming Department of Anthropology student volunteers and a professional archeologists to excavate a building within the Wyoming Territorial Prison State Historic site. Students will analyze excavation data, artifacts and artifact distribution for historic, cultural and economic implications and to better understand the surrounding community and greater historic context. Students will also work with a videographer to edit and produce two videos about their project and the site, develop outdoor text panels for visitors to the site, identify artifacts for display and help to create an exhibit highlighting their findings during the excavation.