The mission begins on Election Day. The Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site needs your help to tell the story of the American Presidency.

The Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site is calling on students across the United States to become civic storytellers.

Though there have been nearly half a billion citizens since the founding of our nation, there have only been 47 Presidential Administrations in the history of the United States. The sixth annual Project POTUS for middle school, and Project POTUS: 24 Hours – the second annual national video contest for high school, challenge students to use the presidency as a lens for discovery about our shared American History.

The 2027 national civics initiative and video contest for students in middle school and high school from the Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site runs annually from Election Day to Presidents Day. 90 winners, 45 from middle school, and 45 from high school are selected – one per president for each national contest. In 2027, Project POTUS HQ will allocate nearly $20,000 in total awards to student winners. View all past winners of Project POTUS through the Case Files here.

Ready to join the mission?

Middle School students: Since the beginning of American History, there have only been 45 individuals who have become the president of the United States… Your mission is to tell the story of one of the American Presidents in a video of 60 seconds or less, using good history resources- including AT LEAST one primary source. All sources must be cited.

High School students: There have been over 90,000 days since the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Real change takes time, but it only takes one day to make history. Tell the story of ONE DAY in the life of your chosen POTUS in a video of 90 seconds or less – using good history resources and AT LEAST three primary sources. Videos must incorporate formal source citations using MLA, APA, or Chicago Style.

NEW this year, share your video to Project POTUS Pre-Check on Google Classroom to receive feedback about qualification for awards before completing an official submission to the contest. View or download the POTUS Files: Project POTUS Classroom Poster from Project POTUS or send a note to projectpotus@bhpsite.org to request physical posters for your school free of cost.

Know a history enthusiast who would be interested in Project POTUS? Members of the public are encouraged to fill out the Citizen Jury interest form to take part in the evaluation of excellent student projects from middle and high school students across the country. This microvolunteering opportunity is flexible and online/ remote only! Jurors utilize a scoring rubric derived from contest guidelines for entrants to assess a video’s creativity, effective use of history material from secondary and primary sources to provide context, and strength of storytelling. Help us fulfill our people-powered contest guarantee and check out our Citizen Jury intake form for more information HERE.