National History Day 2016

Frozen Waters, Eskimos, & Exploration

Junior Division Process Paper
Carrie Cuenca, Sydney Haupt, Alexandra Thomson, & Junyi Xu
During the last week of seventh grade, our History teacher
announced we would have a chance to participate in History day the
following year. When the concept of History day was explained, the
four of us formed into a group. This was easier said than done working equally meant constant deliberation, determination, and
planning. Each of us brought our own special traits to the table;
designing, editing, leadership, and organizing. We balanced these all
out to create the website you see before you now.
When given the assignment of finding a topic, we compiled a list
of possible topics after looking at old entries and suggestions. Finally,
we stumbled across a topic title that we all agreed interested us;
Exploration and Ice: Encountering the North Pole. Research quickly
proved tough, but we soon discovered that choosing the topic of our
research was only the beginning. More choices would follow, and we
had to pick the one that would best suit us all.
However, nobody in our group was particularly savvy in the areas
of physically building and designing, so we decided to construct a
virtual exhibition--a website. It was then that the real contest began.
We registered our website with National History Day immediately, to
get started as soon as possible, and attempted to create an Arctic
terrain. The chilly winds you hear are the Poles gusts and breezes, and
the thematic pictures of ice floes and bergs were carefully selected to
convey a picturesque yet lethal winter landscape. After meticulously
pairing up colors, themes, and pictures, we turned to the more
sophisticated side of History Day - beginning our research.
We began analyzing our topic in late August, starting by
narrowing down our search parameters to two people: Robert Peary
and Frederick Cook. Research on them led to us discovering Pearys
ties with Henson as well as their connection to Global Warming.
Investigation was made much easier as both explorers recorded
everything from weather conditions to dog sledge diaries in their

journals. Not only that, but there are many places dedicated to the
cause of Arctic exploration that also helped our search. This years
theme easily relates to the North Pole, a place of endless exploration
where exchanging with the natives may have been the only way to
survive encounters in the harsh Arctic.
National History Day 2016 brought along new challenges for our
group. By exchanging ideas and using our various talents, we managed
to produce the chill-inducing website before you. Not only have we
learned to work together, we have also cultivated a new and exciting
joy for adventure and exploration of the unknown. Whatever we may
encounter in the world, we take the experiences gained from this
project to fulfill our destiny.