This is the Staten Island Borough Historian's official website for Staten Island History

This website offers information about Staten Island history that will not be found anywhere else on the internet. Since no one person or website can provide all the information about any topic, this site also serves as a portal to other organizations and resources that will hopefully help the researcher find the information they are seeking.

 

Each month a different organization will be featured here to highlight the resources they have available and activities they offer to those interested in Staten Island history.

 

This month’s feature:

Staten Island History Day Fair 2010

This year’s History Day Fair will be held on May 7, 2010. Sponsored by the Borough President’s Office and Borough Historian Thomas Matteo, with assistance from the New York Public Library, last year’s inaugural competition to teach fourth-graders about Staten Island history was a great success. Our host for the evening will be Dr. Tomas Morales, President of the College of Staten Island and the event will be held at Performing Arts Center at CSI.

 

This year the fair has been expanded to include both fourth and fifth grade students. For detail and an application, click on the links below.

click PDF above for 4th grade	click PDF above for 5th grade

 

 

If you have additional questions, please call Tom Matteo at 718-605-7568.

 

PRESS ANNOUNCEMENT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Pat Wilks February 11, 2010 (718) 816-2049 B.P. MOLINARO ANNOUNCES 2ND ANNUAL “STATEN ISLAND HISTORY DAY FAIR”

 

4th Grade Contest Now Expanded to 5th Grade at Public, Private, and Parochial Schools

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – Borough President James P. Molinaro today announced that the second annual “Staten Island History Day Fair” will be held on May 7th, and has been expanded to fifth-graders at Island public, private, and parochial schools.

 

Sponsored by the Borough President’s Office and Borough Historian Thomas Matteo, with assistance from the New York Public Library, last year’s inaugural competition to teach fourth-graders about Staten Island history was a great success.

 

“One hundred sixty enthusiastic students from 24 of our schools contributed very impressive projects last year,” said Molinaro. “This year, I’m pleased to announce that the contest is now open to fifth-graders as well. With Staten Island preparing to celebrate its 350th anniversary next year, the second annual fair should be even more exciting and meaningful for our students.”

 

Last year’s fair was designed to support the Social Studies curriculum of fourth-graders, which focuses on local history. Now fifth-graders in all the Island’s schools will also learn to research and study our Borough’s rich past. Each school is encouraged to hold its own fair, and school-wide winners chosen by the principal by April 9th, will move on to the Borough-wide fair on May 7th.

 

Students are encouraged, either individually, in small groups, or as a class, to prepare a project describing a person, event, or significant place in Staten Island history. Projects can be done in various media, including written, video, photographic, audio or web-based, and will be judged on presentation, content, and the student’s ability to answer questions presented to them by the judges in reference to their project.

 

The winners will have their projects featured on the Borough Historian’s website, www.statenislandhistorian.com, and the New York Public Library’s website, http://nypl.voicethread.com. For more information, contact Borough Historian Thomas Matteo at HYPERLINK "mailto:sihistorian@aol.com" sihistorian@aol.com or Andrew Wilson of the New York Public Library at ahwilson@nypl.org.

 

NEW BOOKS: Staten Island: I didn't Know That! The Donning Company Publishers in partner with Dr. Thomas Matteo are pleased to announce the upcoming publication of a new volume in the history of New York: Staten Island: I Didn’t Know That. To celebrate Staten Island’s heritage, this stunning 8.5” x 11” soft cover volume, chronicles unknown Staten Island history. The unique collection of photographs and insightful text relates the past to the present and makes historic Staten Island come alive for readers of all ages. he book is available at Border's Express in the Staten Island Mall, Clove Lake Book Store, Historic Richmond Town, the Staten Island Museum and Amazon.com. The price is $22.99.    Contact Dr. Matteo at sihistorian@aol.com to reserve your copy of Staten Island I Didn’t Know That today.