So often we’re told history – this is the story, this is what happened, learn it, and remember it. History is a fascinating story of people, places and past times.

But history is also a process, an act of doing. For people doing history, history involves researching, reading documents, speaking to sources and piecing together the story. It is becoming aware that with the discovery of new sources, with the awareness of new stories, with different perspectives and when more than one person looks at the same material, history is actually created and recreated time and again. Throughout the process, questions are asked and information studied and tested. It is the researcher who decides what topics of history are relevant enough and interesting enough to be studied.

For over 20 years, the Heritage Fair given young students the rare opportunity to experience and participate in this second type of history. Students choose a Canadian history topic, research it, write about it and present it at both school and regional heritage fairs.

At the Southern Alberta Regional Heritage Fair, taking place May 7 at the Galt Museum & Archives, students from across southern Alberta will present their projects on Canadian history to judges and to the public. Students have spent numerous hours exploring and writing about their topics, topics as varied as the Gold Rush, Joseph P. Tyrell, Louis Riel and Movie History in Alberta.

This year is the 21st annual Southern Alberta Regional Heritage Fair and ours is just one of many across Alberta and Canada. The Galt Museum & Archives invites the entire community to join us on Saturday, May 7. The public is welcome from 10 am to 2 pm though students will only be at their projects until noon.