Georgia Humanities Council Inc

National History Day is an exciting way to engage students in the study of history, giving them the opportunity to engage with research and come to their own conclusions like a professional historian. Students engage in inquiry-based, active learning that activates students' curiosity. Project-based learning encourages students to learn and apply knowledge and skills through experience.

This program:
PREPARES students for college, career and citizenship.
TEACHES critical thinking, writing, and research skills and boosts performance across all subjects.
INSPIRES students to do more than they ever thought they could.

The New Georgia Encyclopedia is a digital resource created by Georgia Humanities in partnership with the University of Georgia Press, the University System of Georgia/GALILEO, and the Office of the Governor. Throughout the development of the project, each partner has contributed financially and donated in-kind support to the project. Covering the history and culture of the state, the NGE is authoritative, richly illustrated, and essential for educators, tourists, journalists, and all stripes of curious people. Originally launched in 2004 and redesigned in 2013, the NGE is the first state encyclopedia to be conceived and designed exclusively for publication online. This critical resource contains original content and helps users understand the rich history and diverse culture of Georgia's still-unfolding story. Through use of technology, NGE has bridged the geography of Georgia and advanced our mission to higher levels of service. Users come to NGE from all of Georgia’s 159 counties, across the nation, and around the world. Site usage averages over 3.4 million page views each year. In addition to the encyclopedia itself, NGE is connected through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Spotify.

The NGE is an important resource for students and teachers in Georgia’s schools, especially eighth graders taking the required Georgia Studies course. Across the life of the project, students and teachers from Gwinnett County have ranked highest among the school systems, public libraries, and higher education institutions that are tracked as institutional users. This is to be expected, as Gwinnett is Georgia’s largest public school system. However, it is also significant that teachers in Gwinnett County have identified the NGE as a trusted resource for fostering student achievement at the highest levels. In 2020, NGE logged more than 7,000 users from the teacher’s site for Gwinnett County, accounting for more than 12,000 visits alone. Gwinnett County usage of NGE outside of the classroom shows strong rates as well, specifically in Lawrenceville and Suwanee. These two cities combined accounted for 54,000 visits to the NGE.

In addition to serving the educators and students of our state, NGE also serves as a resource for journalists, and NGE is cited in articles for newspapers and online media regularly. As we continue to expand our reach, our goal is to be a resource for everyone in the state—beyond the classroom and newsroom.