Button Design Contest

What are NHD Buttons?

It's a time-honored tradition that students competing at the NHD National Contest trade buttons with students from other affiliates. This year, the Montana 250 sponsored our button design contest. Entries were open to any Montana 4th-12th grader.

Madeline Pomeroy, an 11th grader at Bigfork High School, created this year’s winning entry.

Madeline and her partner Triston Feller also qualified for the National Contest with their documentary “Signing and Shouting; Standing and Sitting-in: Rights and Responsibilities of the 504 Sit-in.”

Their teachers are Annmari Sikon and Cynthia Wilondek, a Montana Historical Society Teacher Leader.

"When Montana comes to mind, one of the first things people tend to picture is the landscape. Home to nine national parks, Montana’s scenery is something that stands out like no other, makes it distinctly unique, and furthermore, makes it home for so many people who live here. The parks that have been created for the sake of protecting the wilderness that so many adore have been intrinsically tied not just to Montana history, but to the rights and responsibilities of Americans as well. In the 1800s, westward expansion led traveling artists and writers to attempt to capture the grandeur of the natural landscape. Fearing that these sights might never be available for future generations, the idea was posed that the government take the responsibility of protecting the natural beauty of the land, setting aside designated “parks” so that those of the future would enjoy the same right to the earth as their forefathers. Yellowstone, part of which is in Montana, was the first designated National Park. However, although Yellowstone is an important piece of history, Glacier National Park is arguably Montana’s most well-known. The pin I have designed seeks to encompass the natural beauty that we have the right to enjoy and the responsibility to protect. It details a mountainscape in front of Lake Josephine, one of the many sights of Glacier, and a trail sign in the foreground that reads “Montana History Day 2025”. Along with everything I have previously mentioned, I chose this design to capture the spirit of Montana and to share with others the importance of our parks."

-Madeline Pomeroy, Bigfork High School, 11th Grade, 2025

Honorable mention designer Kim, a 4th grader from Sunburst, featured some of Montana’s state symbols: the western meadowlark, the bitterroot, the ponderosa pine, and the mourning cloak butterfly. Kim’s teacher is Hali Richmond, a Montana Historical Society Teacher Leader and 2023 Centennial Bell Montana History Teacher of the Year.

Honorable mention designer Vivian, who focused on wolf removal and reintroduction. Vivian’s teacher is Hali Richmond, a Montana Historical Society Teacher Leader and 2023 Centennial Bell Montana History Teacher of the Year.

Honorable mention designer Lily, a 4th grader from Sunburst, related her design to this year’s History Day theme Rights & Responsibilities by including references to voting and other things people do to protect the things they love. Lily’s teacher is Hali Richmond, a Montana Historical Society Teacher Leader and 2023 Centennial Bell Montana History Teacher of the Year.

Honorable mention designer Kasen, a 7th grader from Lavina. selected a bison after learning in class about how Native communities relied on bison. Kason’s teacher is Sarah Lyda, a National History Day in Montana Teacher Fellow.

2024 design by Elaina Patten