2010 Florida History Fair
State Contest Winners
The following teacher and students received awards at the Florida History Fair state competition Awards Ceremony on May 4, 2010. Florida’s Teacher of Merit recipient is nominated for the National History Day PBS Teacher of Merit Award.
Teacher of Merit
- Dennis Dill
McKeel Academy, Lakeland (Polk County)
Mr. Dill is and always has been Mister History Fair at McKeel Academy in Lakeland. He began the program there eight years ago, starting with just his seventh graders. He has coordinated the program ever since and expanded it to grades 7 to 11. Some seniors choose to participate just because they want to, not for any assignment or grade. Students competing in Florida History Fair were the driving force behind McKeel Academy’s beginning to offer an Advanced Placement U.S. History class. Many graduates come back and tell Mr. Dill how much they learned from history fair research and his encouragement. As one colleague says about Mr. Dill, "He shows students that history is not a dull subject to dread, but rather the exact opposite. It is full of conflict, compromise, conspiracy, and sometimes even a little comedy."
Junior Historical Paper
Dr. Jonas Salk and the Polio Vaccine: Spectacular End to an Epidemic
Farnell Middle School (Hillsborough)
Teacher: Gene Hazel
An Innovation in History: The Laser
Murdock Middle School (Charlotte)
Teacher: Darren Lamons
Dr. Charles Richard Drew & The Innovation of the Blood Bank
River City Science Academy (Duval)
Teacher: Micah Dyal
Senior Historical Paper
Harnessing the Atom: Innovation in Warfare
Shorecrest Preparatory School (Pinellas)
Teacher: Ronald Heller
The CNN Story: The Innovation and Impact of the 24-hour News Broadcast
Home School (Manatee)
Teacher: Deborah Chapman
Innovating the Current of History: How Nikola Tesla electrified the World
Seminole High School (Seminole)
Teachers: Natalie Gavarrette, Rebekah Maggio, Linda Moise
Junior Individual Documentary
Innovation During the American Civil War in Transporting the Wounded
Darnell-Cookman Middle School (Duval)
Teachers: Mary Ellen McDonald, Elizabeth Stansel
Floating Fortresses: The Innovation of Ironclads
Swift Creek Middle School (Leon)
Teacher: Grace Bigelow
Innovations of Motown Records: How Music Changed America
American Heritage School (Broward)
Teacher: Leslie Porges
Junior Group Documentary
Glass: Looking Through a Window of Time
Swift Creek Middle School (Leon)
Teacher: Grace Bigelow
Special Olympics: Bravery in the Attempt
American Heritage School (Broward)
Teacher: Leslie Porges
A British Invasion: Music Technology That Changed the World
Montford Middle School (Leon)
Teacher: Stacy Kramer
Senior Individual Documentary
DNA: Unlocking the Tomb of the Unknowns
Pensacola Catholic High School (Escambia)
Teacher: Britt Brockinton
Gabrielle "CoCo" Chanel: Innovation of Modner Women's Fashion
Fort Myers High School (Lee)
Teacher: Russell Sousa
Tarpon Springs Sponge Industry
East Lake High School (Pinellas)
Teacher: Alan Kay
Senior Group Documentary
The Integrated Circuit
Shorecrest Preparatory School (Pinellas)
Teacher: Ronald Heller
A Credit to Our Generation
Seacrest Country Day School (Collier)
Teacher: John Heers
Case Closed: The Innovation of DNA In Court
Milton High (Santa Rosa)
Teacher:
Junior Individual Performance
Turbo Power "Jets in Time"
Woodham Middle School (Escambia)
Teacher: Summer Demilly
RADAR
Diplomat Middle School (Lee)
Teacher: Jill Hooks
The Long-lasting Incandescent Light Bulb: Lighting its Way into History
American Heritage School (Broward)
Teacher: Leslie Porges
Junior Group Performance
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Time Warp of Justice
Diplomat Middle School (Lee)
Teachers: Jill Hooks, Caroline Toadvine
Life in Plastic is Fantastic: The Innovation of the Blonde, Blue-eyed, Bombshell Barbie
Tuskawilla Middle School (Seminole)
Teachers: Rebekah Maggio, Linda Moise
Printer Night . . . At the Museum
James Weldon Johnson Middle School (Duval)
Teacher: R. Wayne Fortuna
Senior Individual Performance
Insulin: Miracle in a Bottle
East Lake High School (Pinellas)
Teacher: Alan Kay
Just A Dream Away: The Innovations and Technologies of Walt Disney
Spruce Creek High School (Volusia)
Teacher: Jason Caros
Words Can Hurt Too: The Innovative Research of Dr. Dan Olweus
Manatee High School (Manatee)
Teacher: Peggy Gardiner
Senior Group Performance
The GI Bill: An Innovative Congressional Act that Redefined the Middle Class
Pensacola High School (Escambia)
Teacher: Tracy Brown
The Telephone: A Communication Connection
B.T. Washington High School (Escambia)
Teacher: Walter Gulley, Jr.
The Pill: Controversy, Innovation and Legacy
Shorecrest Preparatory School (Pinellas)
Teacher: Ronald Heller
Junior Individual Exhibit
Braille: Connecting the Dots from Darkness to Light
Sacred Heart Home Educators (Leon)
Teacher: Lynn Mangan
Stay Cool: Artificial Ice Machine and Mechanical Refrigeration
Surfside Middle School (Bay)
Teachers: Kathy Easom, Steve Grice
The Preservation Pioneer: Theodore Roosevelt as an Innovation in Conservation
Merritt Brown Middle School (Bay)
Teachers: Susan Granberg, Candace Leebrick, Christine Sermons
Junior Group Exhibit
Dr. Ice: Air Conditioning
St. Paul Catholic School (Escambia)
Teacher: Lori Cuevas
Innovations in Voting Technology
Nolan Middle School (Manatee)
Teacher: Diane Vestrand
The Innovation of the Pony Express: Giddyup, It's Mail Time
Dunedin Highland Middle School (Pinellas)
Teacher: Cathie Chapman
Senior Individual Exhibit
Cardiovascular Surgery: Beating the Odds
Pensacola High School (Escambia)
Teacher: Heather Knight
The Marine Chronometer
East Lake High School (Pinellas)
Teacher: Alan Kay
Writing A Revolution: The Impact and Change of Paper on a global scale
Nature Coast Technical High School (Hernando)
Teacher: Mona Johnson
Senior Group Exhibit
Muckraking: Exposing Corruption, Eliciting Reform, and Establishing Investigative Journalism
Pensacola High School (Escambia)
Teacher: Michael Jones
Skyscrapers: America Grows Up
South Broward High School (Broward)
Teacher: Brian Nichols
Adam Smith: The Invisible Hand Seen throughout the World
Canterbury School (Lee)
Teacher: Ronald Young
Junior Web Site
The Higgins Boat Changed Amphibious Warfare
Ransom Middle School (Escambia)
Teacher: Janet Enfinger
A Car for Every American: Henry Ford's Innovative Strategies
Lawton Chiles Middle Academy (Polk)
Teachers: Leon Williams, Marsha Yoder
FDR's Tree Army
Merritt Brown Middle School (Bay)
Teacher: Christine Sermons
Senior Web Site
The Power of the Press
Bartow International Baccalaureate (Polk)
Teacher: Theodore Wright
Electrifying America
Summerlin Military Academy (Polk)
Teacher: Steven Hall
Gandhi and the Salt Satyagraha
East Lake High School (Pinellas)
Teacher: Alan Kay
