PORT ORCHARD — South Kitsap School District middle school students will be participating in a History Day competition Jan. 27, with the theme of “Breaking Barriers in History.”

The event will be at Marcus Whitman Middle School from 6-7:30 p.m. The public is invited to view the students’ work, SKSD spokeswoman Amy Miller said in a news release.

History Day is a yearlong project in which students conduct college-level authentic research on a topic of their choice related to the annual theme. As part of the project, students comb through libraries, archives and museums, conduct oral history interviews and visit historic sites.

After students analyze and interpret sources, they draw a conclusion about the significance of their topic and present their work in one of five ways: as a paper, exhibit, performance, documentary or website.

Miller said teachers “are amazed by how much this project creates an understanding and appreciation of history while developing the necessary 21st-century tools, skills and aptitudes for success in school and life.”

Top entries are invited to the state/affiliate level contests, with the top two entries in each category then submitted for the national contest in Washington, D.C., in June.