2021 Project Guidelines and Content Requirements

Project Guidelines

  • The fair is open to students from grades 4 to 10 in the English and French Ottawa-Carleton public and catholic school boards, private schools, Pikwakanagan First Nations education network, and home-schooled children.
  • The Ottawa Regional Heritage Fair is coordinated with the schools in the Ottawa-Carleton Region. Students who are interested in participating must coordinate their participation through their teacher/school.
  • Students have a choice of preparing an individual project or a small group project with a maximum of 2 students per group project.
  • The project can be presented in English, in French or in a bilingual format.
  • Teachers in an immersion classroom will need to indicate the level of language proficiency on the submission form.
  • Accepted project formats include Video, slide presentation or PDF presentation with images and narratives (see Project Formats and Copyright for details).
  • As in past years, we are capping the initial registration at 7 projects per school and will consider additional spots on a case-by-case request. We want to encourage school representation from across the Ottawa region.

Each project registration must also include:

  • Headshot(s) of student(s) presenting the project and their given name(s).
  • A summary of the project (maximum 500 words).
  • The Student Permission and Media Release Form signed by the parent/guardians and student.

Content Requirements

  • The project must explore an aspect of Canadian history and heritage – Canadian personalities, legends, milestones, or achievements. Possible subjects include: military history, Indigenous history and culture, regional history, genealogy, a person in Canadian history, Canada’s historic places and monuments, multicultural diversity, Ontario’s history, women’s history, biographies, social justice, and Ottawa built heritage. See Project Selection and Topics.
  • Students must demonstrate that they have conducted in-depth research on their subject by integrating primary and secondary resources.
  • The project must reflect the use of primary and secondary sources and oral histories. Projects must include a list of these sources.
  • The fair offers students the opportunity to share unique stories in Canadian history. Projects can include interviews, interesting and historical photographs or archival documents, dressing-up in costumes, historical re-enactments, historical background music, and much more. See Project Formats and Copyright for information about image and music copyright.
  • The best Heritage Fair projects begin with a research question to which the student tries to find an answer.
  • Historical Significance – What and who should be remembered?
  • Evidence and Interpretation of Evidence – Does your evidence support your conclusions?
  • Causes and Consequences – Why did historical events happen the way they did and what are the consequences?
  • Continuity and Change – How are lives and conditions alike over time and how have they changed?
  • Perspectives – What does the past look like when viewed through the lens of time?
  • Ethical Judgement – Is what happened right or fair?
  • The Judging Rubric will be forwarded to all educators to help guide students as they prepare their projects. 
  • Student projects will be judged from Wednesday, May 5 to Sunday, May 16, 2021. 
  • All projects will be adjudicated by a committee of volunteer judges. This group includes English and French educators, as well as heritage and museum professionals. 
  • The Committee of volunteer judges will review the projects online. There will be no one-on-one interviews with the students.
  • When a project is submitted online, students will be asked to answer the following questions: 
  • What was the most interesting thing you learned about your topic? 
  • What are the major conclusions you reached in your project? 
  • What important lessons have you learned from your project that you want to share with other Canadians? 
  • Why is your topic important to Canada’s history and why is it still relevant today? 
  • Although judges will be reviewing three different project formats (video, slide presentation or PDF presentation), judging will be focused on the content of the project, the questions answered and the students’ use of historical thinking and inquiry process.
  • See Judging Rubric and share with your students.