This week, AHA’s 2026 Alabama History Day winners traveled to Maryland and Washington, D.C., to participate in National History Day, June 14-18, 2026. Students competed with their middle school and high school counterparts from around the country, and represented our state poise, passion, and creativity.
“This is always such a rewarding payoff for the students who place at our statewide contest,” says Idrissa N. Snider, Ph.D., AHA’s Alabama History Day coordinator. “This was a sharp, and kind, group of students and they represented our state brilliantly. We are so grateful to the parents who supported them, and to the brilliant teachers who work with these students on their projects and help prepare them for these competitions.”
In addition to the competition itself at the University of Maryland, the week also gave participants the chance to tour Washington, D.C. Alabama’s students visited Smithsonian museums, watched the U.S. Senate in session, and met with Senator Katie Britt, whose staff once again arranged a fascinating tour of the U.S. Capitol building for Alabama’s young historians. Some students and teachers also met with their own members of Congress to share how much History Day means to them, including with Rep. Robert Aderholt and Rep. Shomari Figures.
See an Alabama History Day 2026 photo album!
Several Alabama students shined on the national stage:
Isaac Livingston, Westminster Christian Academy, Huntsville
Outstanding Affiliate Winner, Senior Division
“Yellowstone: A Wilderness Revolution” (Website)
Landon Nguyen, Clark-Shaw Magnet School of Math, Science, and Technology, Mobile
Outstanding Affiliate Winner, Junior Division
“Threads Bounding the World: How the Silk Road Revolutionized Global Trade” (Exhibit)
Yeonwoo Seok, Auburn High School
Smithsonian Showcase Selection, National Museum of American History
“The Tuskegee Syphilis Study: Revolution, Reaction, and Reform in Medical Research Ethics” (Exhibit)
Cassie Williams, Denton Magnet School of Technology, Mobile
Smithsonian Showcase Selection, Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture
“The Voyage of the Clotilda: Ocean of Tears” (Documentary)
National History Day closes out the 2025-2026 History Day season, which was themed around “Revolution, Reaction, Reform in History,” an apt selection given America’s 250th anniversary this year. AHA’s state contest took place at American Village in April.
Our thanks to AHA’s sponsors, partners, and schools statewide who make Alabama History Day possible, including the State of Alabama and Alabama Commission on Higher Education for their financial support.
The theme, contest dates, and details for Alabama History Day 2027 will be revealed later this summer. To learn more about Alabama History Day, visit alabamahumanities.org/alabama-history-day.
About the Alabama Humanities Alliance
Founded in 1974, the nonprofit and nonpartisan Alabama Humanities Alliance has served as a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Through AHA’s grantmaking and public programming, we promote lifelong learning, impactful storytelling, and civic engagement. We believe the humanities can bring Alabamians together and help us better understand the communities we call home.
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