Of the 17 Cassopolis students who participated in the district level Michigan History Day competition on the campus of Western Michigan University Saturday, 10 will advance to the state finals on April 25.

Michigan History Day gives students a chance to become historians by writing a paper, creating an exhibit, building a website, making a documentary or creating a performance. Kids can participate as individuals or as part of a small group. This year’s theme is Leadership and Legacy.

The Cassopolis team of Collin Bogue, Kennedy Brooks, Anna Leach, Keith Porter and Kendon Williams won first place in the Youth Group Performance category for their play, the “Legacy of Nathan and Pamela Thomas.” They got their idea after visiting the Underground Railroad House in Schoolcraft, where they heard stories about the Quaker Underground Railroad conductors and the freedom-seekers who passed through their house.

The students who will advance to the state finals include Dynisha Hackworth, eighth grader, for her documentary “Thornton and Lucy Blackburn,” Kennady King, for her exhibit “Claudette Colvin” and fourth grader Rachel Williams, together with fifth graders Zaniya Dodd and Faith Floor for their play “The Little Lady Who Wrote the Book that Started the War,” about Harriet Beecher Stowe.

Ruth Andrews and Felomina Patton coordinated the Michigan History Day Team with assistance from  Jimmy Johnson, Carolyn Kelly, Tina Reich and Margie Yarger. The team thanked the Local History Branch of the Cass District Library, Calvin Community Chapel, the Underground Railroad Society of Cass County, Penn Friends Community Church, and the United Presbyterian Church of Cassopolis for resources, support and encouragement.