COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Nearly 2,800 young historians are traveling to the University of Maryland at College Park for the National History Day competition after winning their state and local contests.

The competition culminates in the national contest running Sunday through Thursday in College Park. This year’s competition includes 2,794 students and nearly 1,700 entries. More than 300 historians and experts will evaluate the student projects.

National History Day is a yearlong academic program focusing on research for more than 500,000 students in 6th grade through high school. This year President Barack Obama awarded the program a National Humanities Medal at the White House.

The competition opens Sunday evening. The student projects will be exhibited Monday through Wednesday at the University of Maryland and at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History on Wednesday.

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