Many history fairs follow a yearly theme. First, determine if there is a theme. Then decide on a way to combine your interests with the theme. If the theme is women's history and you are interested in fashion, create a slide show presentation or a poster that displays how women's fashion changed in each decade. Examine how historical events affected fashion trends. If there is no theme, use this as an opportunity to learn more about any history topic that's of interest to you.
Once you have your topic, ask yourself how your topic has evolved. When presenting a history fair topic, show judges how a period's events influenced the topic. Ask yourself how the social, economic, political and cultural landscape affected the topic. For instance, in the example on fashion, you might show how the Women's Suffrage movement led to a more relaxed wardrobe as women were beginning to feel more liberated.
A documentary is one method of showcasing your topic. Using a video camera, work with a group of friends to highlight your topic. When making a documentary, include your group's main point, or its thesis, at the beginning. Using quotations, dialogue or speeches from historical figures helps support your thesis. If you are creating a documentary on the history of your town, having group members dress as persons integral in your town's history brings life to the project. Videotape a mock interview of these "historical figures." Have them answer your questions the way the person they're portraying would.
Creating an exhibit might be easier for you than managing a multimedia presentation. Wood of foam make good backgrounds. For less formal fairs, a poster or tri-fold board also would work well. When designing your board, choose one dominant, larger picture that represents your topic. Surround it with smaller pictures. For instance, if you were covering Civil War battles in your state, a large map in the center of the board with stars highlighting major battles would work well as a dominant image. Surround the map with pictures of generals, soldiers or battlefield sites from your state. Include a caption with every photo.