• ASAP: Submit the NHD MA Nationals Attendance Survey

• May 7th: Virtual Chat, 3:30 PM - 5 PM

• May 13th: 

  • Nationals Registration and Project Upload Deadline

  • Deadline to submit Background Check materials (for adults riding on NHD MA buses at any point)

• June 5th: NHD MA Winners Celebration at Charles River Museum of Industry & Innovation , 5 PM - 7 PM

• TBA: Nationals Orientation Zoom Webinar

• June 8th - June 13th: NATIONALS!

IMPORTANT: If you are travelling to Nationals on the NHD MA Bus, please disregard the following! Our team leads will take you in to get registered upon arrival.

If you are travelling independently to Nationals, you will need to check yourself in to the contest and to any on-campus housing. See instructions below (copied from the National Contest website):

Student Check In

Contest check-in takes place on Sunday, June 8, from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. in the Stamp Student Union, Colony Ballroom. Information about schedules, judging times/locations, and campus logistics will be available when you check in. To avoid unnecessary hauling of exhibits or props around the building, DO NOT UNLOAD UNTIL AFTER YOU HAVE CHECKED IN. The Union Lane Garage, across from the Stamp Student Union, will offer free temporary parking on Saturday, June 7, and Sunday, June 8. There is also free long-term parking in Lots 1 and Z, West of Stamp Student Union, on Saturday and Sunday.

Late arrivals for the Junior Division can check in from 8:00 – 9:30 a.m. on Monday. Senior Division students can check in from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Monday and 8:00 – 9:30 a.m. Tuesday morning. Every student (including each member of a group entry) must check in at registration and pick up their registration packet.

If you mailed anything to the Stamp Student Union, it will be in the Prince George’s Room in the Stamp Student Union. If the item you mailed was oversized, it will be at Central Receiving. Please review this document for information on how to collect items from Central Receiving.

Teacher Check In

Teachers may check in at the contest during the same time as student check-in. Look for the signage for Teacher Check In. It is separate from student check in.

Housing Check In

During the contest, housing check-in at Stamp Student Union will be available Saturday from 2:00–8:00 p.m., Sunday from 9:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. On Monday, housing check-in moves to the alcove outside of the Prince George’s Room in Stamp Student Union from 8:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. You will receive your room assignment and meal card at this time. Please note: On-site NHD Registration and Housing Check-In are separate processes. Please follow the signs to the appropriate area.

Late Housing Check In: 

If you arrive on campus after 8:00 p.m. on Saturday or Sunday, you must go to LaPlata Hall to receive your room assignment and meal card. The telephone number for the LaPlata Hall desk is 301-314-5275. The address is 4121 Farm Drive, College Park, MD 20742.

The NHD MA contingent will be housed in the La Plata Hall (La Plata Hall, 8160 Farm Dr, College Park, MD 20742). See the UMD Campus Map. 

Housing Assignments are incoming, watch this space!

You will receive your judging time/location when you check in. Please review the category submission instructions to see what you will need to bring to present your project at the National Contest. We will post the times here when they are made available and you will also be able to find them on the NHD Contest App.

If you are in the Junior Division (grades 6–8), you will be judged on Monday, June 9, 2025. If you are in the Senior Division (grades 9–12), you will be judged on Tuesday, June 10, 2025.

Documentary and Performance categories are the only categories where students need to be present for the finals round of judging. 

For the Junior Division, documentary and performance finalists will be announced Monday evening. Junior Division finals judging will take place on Tuesday evening between 5:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. For the Senior Division, documentary and performance finalists will be announced Tuesday evening. Senior Division finals judging will take place on Wednesday morning between 8:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.

Exhibit, Paper, and Website categories will not be notified if their project advanced to finals, therefore, they do not need to be present for the finals round.

Remind App:

We are using the messaging app Remind to communicate via text during contest week! We will post the link shortly to sign up for our team 2025 group. Everyone should follow the instructions and create a STUDENT ACCOUNT (yes, even chaperones and teachers!) In this case, NHD MA are the only "teachers".

If you need to contact the coordinators, please send a message to "NHD MA". These messages will reach Alex, Kayla, Paula, and Jim (our on-site team coordinators) and Kate and Elyssa (our off-site coordinators). One of us will respond to assist you.

We will respond to questions in the Remind app Sunday, June 8—Thursday, June 12 from 8:30am to 10pm. You can send messages outside of that time, but we won't respond until the following day.  You can also send emails to nhd@masshist.org, which will be monitored from 9 AM-5 PM (though the Remind App will receive a faster response time in most cases). 

Email:

We will be checking the nhd@masshist.org frequently all week. Feel free to email us there anytime.

FOR EMERGENCIES ONLY: 

First, dial 911. Then, when it is safe to do so, please call one of your NHD MA Coordinators: Paula Sampson at 617-812-1970 or Alexandra Moleski at TBA. For all other situations, please use the Remind app; please only use coordinator phone numbers in an emergency.

Background checks will be required of all adults travelling on the NHD MA buses at any point during the Nationals Competition. This includes the trip to and from Nationals; shuttles into D.C.; our monuments tour; etc. Background checks are not required if you are simply staying in the dorms, however, as those are shared spaces with other state affiliates and run by NHD Nationals. You can find the detailed explanation of our background check policy at this link.

We will need the following from any adult planning to board a NHD MA bus by Tuesday, May 13th  at the latest:

• Massachusetts background check consent form

• Nationwide background check consent form

• Color picture of a current, unexpired, state-issued photo ID, driver’s license, or US Passport/Permanent Resident card, emailed to erikabarrie@masshist.org 

The details of the check are confidential, and will ONLY be shared with the Massachusetts Historical Society Director of HR Erika Barrie. Please see the detailed explanation of our background check policy, what is checked and what isn't, and explanation of our procedures and policies at this link.

Please note: while the form MHS has for the Nationwide check is also what is used for employment purposes includes info the right to run other checks (like credit checks, driving, etc.) these are NOT RUN unless a candidate is specifically advised so in writing, and will NOT be run for the purposes of this trip. 

Please feel free to contact our HR Director with any questions:

Erika Barrie
Director of Human Resources
Massachusetts Historical Society

ebarrie@masshist.org * 617.716.9661 (cell) * 617.646.0581 (office)

What will you need during NHD Nationals week? Here are some suggestions!

NHD Interview:

• Your project!  Review the project category guidelines for reminders, particularly of how many copies of your paperwork to bring. 

• Your interview outfit. Remember, only performance category competitors can wear costumes. There is no dress code for interviews but we suggest something nice!

Clothes:

• Comfortable shoes. You will be on your feet a lot during the week.

• Rain jacket/ umbrella (but hope for good weather!)

• Clothes for 5 days – shorts, t-shirts, etc. It can get hot in Maryland!

• A hat and sunglasses.

• Bathing suit and beach towel for University swimming pool. 

Miscellaneous:

• Some spending money.

• A water bottle

• Sunscreen, especially if you will be walking around Washington, D.C.

• Camera, cell phone, etc. Remember to bring the chargers.

• Medications

If you are staying in the dorms, bring:

• Toiletries - toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, shampoo, etc.

• Washcloths - but not towels (sheets, a blanket, a pillow and bath towels are provided, washcloths are not)

• Shower shoes - flip flops or shoes you can wear in the shower. (There are only a few showers for the whole floor and many people will be using the showers. They are clean, but sometimes it's nice to be wearing something on your feet)

• Optional: An extra blanket if the A.C. is blasting!

You will receive from NHD MA:

You will receive the following from NHD MA:

• Two NHD Massachusetts T-shirts! One is to wear on the first day or during the week, and the second shirt is to wear during the awards ceremony on Thursday

• NHD Massachusetts pins to trade with students from other affiliates

• A NHD MA bag to store your stuff in

IMPORTANT LINKS

Registration Portal: https://www.national.nhd.org. You will use your username and password from States to log in.

NHD Nationals General Information Site: https://nhd.org/en/contest/national-contest/ 

CONTACT INFO: NATIONALS

For technical support with NHDWebcentral or project uploads into the registration system, please email it@nhd.org. 

For general registration and contest questions, please email registration@nhd.org or call the NHD office at 301-314-9739.

For questions regarding housing and meals, please contact NHDhousing@umd.edu or call 301-314-6637.

For billing and payment questions, please email Lorena@nhd.org.

CONTACT INFO: NHD MA TEAM

For questions about the schedule, bus, or NHD in MA plans, email nhd@masshist.org.