My second afternoon with the History Fair

Today was my second day working with the History Fair at the Harold Washington Library and what a busy day it was! Upon arrival, I met my supervisor for the first time, who went over the large catalog of reference sources we have available to students. The theme for the History Fair this year is "Revolution, Reaction, and Reform in Chicago," so I am familiar with most of the sources in the reference catalog.

After going over our sources, I helped a discouraged sixth grade student who had to start over completely on her research. We brainstormed and I taught her how to perform a search on the Chicago Public Library website for sources. She spent the rest of the afternoon taking notes and asking questions- I felt so proud of her!

The rest of the afternoon proceeded in a similar fashion, helping with brainstorming and looking for sources. I also assisted in structuring a thesis and writing a bibliography. In total, about 15 students showed up, a record number for History Fair Sunday afternoons!    

First Day

I've just returned from my first day as an intern at Chicago History Fair at the Harold Washington Library, and everything went smoothly! 

The Chicago History Fair is the main event of the Chicago Metro History Education Center, a non-for-profit organization that strives to teach middle and high school students how to do historical research on Chicago-specific topics that are judged at the annual History Fair. As a volunteer intern, I'll be working at the Harold Washington Library on Sunday afternoons to assist students with their research, everything from how to choose a topic to how to read primary sources and how to structure their final papers and projects. I will also be helping out in the CMHEC office on select weekdays and I'll be helping at the actual History Fair as a judge. I'm very excited to begin this opportunity, as I've worked on Chicago history topics for both Capstone and the History Honors program and I'm passionate about working with young students.

Today went smoothly, yet only a few students showed up for help. After familiarizing myself with the reference room I'm working in, I talked to the the two other volunteer interns about what our roles would be when working with the students. I am very familiar with Chicago history, so it was decided that I would be that resource while the other interns would help with locating sources within the library. I helped two students brainstorm topic ideas and gave a brief description of the Colombian Exposition of 1893 to another student. Hopefully next week I will have more students to help!