The Purpose of The Hershey Story History Contest for Young Writers
The Hershey Story offers this writing contest as a way to encourage students to communicate their interest in and knowledge of history in a creative and coherent manner. Awards are presented in support and acknowledgement of students’ efforts and for public recognition of their success.
View the Winning Entries from the 2023-2024 History Contest for Young Writers Here
Entry Information
Entries must be submitted here beginning November 1, 2024.
Contest Opening Date and Deadline
Students may submit History Contest entries beginning November 1, 2024. The deadline for submission of entries to the 2024-2025 contest is February 15, 2025.
Eligibility
Any Pennsylvania student enrolled in public, private or homeschool, grades 5 through 8, in Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon, Perry or York County is eligible to submit one entry to the contest.
Entries must be the work of one individual student and a student may submit only one entry.
Each entry must be the original work of the contest entrant, but may also have been submitted as an assigned school project as long as it fulfills the requirements below.
Age Division
- Grades 5 and 6, Junior
- Grades 7 and 8, Senior
We suggest that entrants use the MLA format. For guidance, consult a website such as www.easybib.com (Please note that not all bibliography formatting may be preserved during the online submission process.)
Categories
Students may submit an entry in one of the following categories:
- Non-fiction: An essay about a historical event, era or person(s). The entry must include an explanation of the student’s personal interest in the chosen topic. For example, the student may include examples of personal experiences that influenced the choice of topic, or books, classroom activities, or travel experiences that sparked the student’s interest.
- Fiction: A piece of creative writing, such as a fictional diary or story, about a historical event, era or person(s).
- Poetry: A poem about a historical event, era or person(s).
- Science/Health: A non-fiction essay about a historical science or historical health-related event, era or person(s). The entry must include an explanation of the student’s personal interest in the chosen topic. For example, the student may include examples of personal experiences that influenced the choice of topic, or books, classroom activities, or travel experiences that sparked the student’s interest.
Length
Essay entries must be at least 400 words but no more than 1000 words. Poems must be at least 35 lines but no more than 100 lines.
Format
Please indicate paragraphs by either indenting the first line or adding an extra line between paragraphs. The form will allow the use of bold and italics. The entry form will strip any special characters or fonts that are used when the entry is submitted online.
Student & School Information
To complete the entry form, the following information is required. Please assemble required information before beginning the entry process.
- Title of Entry
- Category (Non-fiction, Fiction, Poetry, Science/Health)
- Name of Contest Entrant
- Home Address
- Parent’s Email
- Home Phone Number
- Age
- Grade
- School
- Teacher’s Name
- Teacher’s Email
Bibliography
A bibliography must be included with each entry (including poetry). The bibliography is not included in the word count. A least two (2) of the following types of sources must be cited:
- Book
- Magazine/Journal article
- Interview (oral or video)
- Internet (please include complete URL)
Students must use at least one source that is not from the Internet.
Judging
Entries will be evaluated on the following criteria:
- Evidence of an understanding of the historical context surrounding the event, era, or person(s) discussed in the entry
- Historical accuracy
- Clarity and coherence
- Creativity and imagination in the choice of subject and presentation.
- Grammar, spelling and compositional structure
Judging Committee
The judging panel includes historians, educators and other community leaders who are not employed by The Hershey Story. The decisions of the judges are final.
Awards
Eight (8) first place and eight (8) second place awards will be given in the following categories:
- Grades 5/6: Non-Fiction
- Grades 5/6 Fiction
- Grades 5/6 Poetry
- Grades 5/6 Science/Health
- Grades 7/8: Non-Fiction
- Grades 7/8: Fiction
- Grades 7/8: Poetry
- Grades 7/8: Science/Health
1st place winners receive:
- 1st place certificate
- $100
- One year family membership to The Hershey Story Museum
- Hershey’s Chocolate gift basket and 30 Hershey’s Milk Chocolate bars to share with winner’s class (donated by The Hershey Company)
- Two 1-day tickets to Hersheypark (donated by Hershey Entertainment & Resorts Company)
2nd place winners receive:
- 2nd place certificate
- One year family membership to The Hershey Story Museum
- Two 1-day tickets to Hersheypark (donated by Hershey Entertainment & Resorts Company)
- A 1 lb Hershey’s Milk Chocolate bar (donated by The Hershey Company)
Winning students will be notified by mid-April. All honorable mention students will be notified in a timely fashion.
Publication
By entering the contest, participants grant permission to The Hershey Story to publish winning entries and/or winners’ names and photographs for publicity purposes.
The Hershey Story – Background
The Hershey Story is a non-profit educational institution founded in 1933 by Milton S. Hershey. He believed in providing educational and cultural opportunities for Hershey residents and the Central Pennsylvania region. In keeping with Mr. Hershey’s philosophy, the museum is dedicated to helping people of all ages understand and enjoy many aspects of history.
For Further Information
Contact Susan Hetrick, Supervisor of Education & Public Programs @ 717-520-5587 or email [email protected].
Enter the History Contest for Young Writers here beginning November 1, 2024.
View the Winning Entries from the 2023-2024 History Contest for Young Writers Here
The Hershey Story is a non-profit educational institution founded in 1933 by Milton S. Hershey who believed in providing educational and cultural opportunities for the people of Hershey and the Central Pennsylvania region. In keeping with Mr. Hershey’s philosophy, The Hershey Story is dedicated to helping people of all ages understand and enjoy many aspects of history.
