Bigfork Middle School teacher Cynthia Wilondek’s eighth-graders were looking for a competitive edge as they toured the exhibits and archives of the Museum at Central School on Jan. 20.

This will be the second year her class will compete in National History Day.

Students are tasked with writing research papers and creating either an exhibit, documentary, website, paper or stage a performance under the theme “Exploration, Encounter and Exchange.”

Wilondek conversed with museum board member Sally Hash-Savage on how to make this year’s field trip more than just a tour. From learning how an exhibit is curated to examining museum archives, students gained a perspective that a museum is a valuable resource when researching history.

Museum Executive Director Gil Jordan described the learning process that came through the design transformation of the museum’s “History of the Flathead” exhibit from the perspective of amateurs, then professionals, to give students pointers when creating their own exhibits for National History Day.

After researching and fact checking, condensing material to just the “bare essentials” is a daunting task when covering a topic as broad as the “History of the Flathead.”

“The actual research fills a shelf three-foot wide. Now can we put that all in the exhibit? No. The average person that comes through museum spends maybe an hour — 15, 20 minutes in an exhibit,” Jordan said, emphasizing that the more text there is to read, the greater the likelihood that a visitor will walk right by.

“Which means once you have all the research you have to boil it down,” Jordan said.

Walking students through the “History of the Flathead” exhibit, Jordan highlighted the use of interactive displays to attract attention. Students looked at a few displays where they could push buttons and areas would light up or a video would play, or they could lift panels to get more information on a subject.

Making a connection with a visitor is also important, Jordan said, sharing the story of a child’s red dress on display.

That dress belonged to Margaret Duffy, who was 3 years old when her family left Missoula Dec. 24, 1891, bound for Kalispell. When they arrived in Kalispell on midnight Christmas Eve, a party was going on and Margaret begged her mother to wear the hand-sewn dress.

“You want to make it real, make it human,” Jordan said about an exhibit.

Milling through the Museum at Central School, a few students snapped pictures of interesting displays and jotted down notes.

Students who chose to research Montana history for their National History Day project were given a lesson on using the museum for research looking at newspapers, photographs and periodicals and a glimpse into the set up of the acquisitions room.

They also learned how to search museum collections online using software called PastPerfect. “They’re going to bring a fresh perspective as only a 21st-century eye can,” Wilondek said.

Two eighth-graders, Ansleigh Edgerton and Carly Stodghill, are in the research phase of learning about Montana’s first women’s basketball team.

“Miss Wilondek gave us the idea because we both like basketball and it was kind of interesting,” Edgerton said.

From what early information they gathered, Stodghill said the team of American Indian women were formed in 1897 and gained worldwide recognition in 1904.

“I would hope that we set a precedent by what we’re doing today to show people what museums can be,” Wilondek said. “I think there’s this stereotype out there that when you go to a museum you stare at something on the wall and go, ‘Oh that’s nice,’ and move on, where the reality is we have an opportunity to work with what history is and allow it to become a personal experience. I think that’s an invaluable experience.”

The school-level National History Day competition is March 2 at Bigfork Elementary and Middle School. Entries can move on to the state and then national competition in Maryland. Last school year, three of Wilondek’s students made it to the national contest.

“It was such a successful year and such an incredible part of the curriculum,” Wilondek said.

Edgerton and Stodghill are aiming to make it to the national level as are many of Wilondek’s students.

“They’re going into this wanting to make it to D.C.,” Wilondek said.

Hilary Matheson is a reporter for The Daily Inter Lake. She may be reached at 758-4431 or hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.