For students who gravitate towards the explorations of the 1500s and the 1900s wars more than their unit tables and Punnett squares, the new History Club is the perfect club to join. Created by Mel Satmar, junior and History Club president, this club is the place for all kinds of history enthusiasts to meet and show off their knowledge of different historical moments.

“I found that there weren’t a lot of clubs at the school that I was really interested in and I wanted to partake in something. And I said, ‘Hey, I really like history. And I like sharing that with people.’ And so I decided, ‘Why not make a place where that could happen?’” Satmar said.

The club has two meetings every month. For the first meeting, the club members establish a topic. From that topic, members will learn and discuss the topic. The second meeting consists of applying that knowledge through playing games or presentations to learn more about the topic.

“It gives them a chance to explore topics in history that they’re interested in, as opposed to those that are required in a curriculum, and also gives them a chance to hang out with other people who like history, which is probably not the coolest thing to do. But when you’re with people who have the same interest as you, it becomes cool,” Libby Reimann, AP European History teacher and sponsor, said. “At the first meeting, after we did some organizational things, we played history Pictionary. I’ve got a History Cards Against Humanity, so we can be fun. Obviously, I think it’s fun or I wouldn’t be teaching.”

Satmar first thought of creating a history club over the summer, when her close friend recommended her to create a club where she was able to share and learn about something she was passionate about. For Satmar, that was history. 

“When my friend first brought up the idea, I was very dismissive about it because I didn’t know what we could possibly do. But as I started talking to my other friends about it, they started helping me come up with more and more ideas. And I started being like, ‘Hey, this is this actually has a lot of potential,’” Satmar said. “And then from there, I just had to figure out how to get it rolling, how to get people to come, and how everything was going to go.”

However, Satmar could not have led the club without her sponsor, Reimann, who is interested in history and has helped Satmar with organizing and planning the meetings.

“I love her. She’s doing so much. For the first week, I did not have time to make a poster. So she whipped something up really quick and we hung them up together. She likes to recommend things. So she’s like, ‘Oh, what if next meeting we try this instead of that? It seems like people showed a lot of interest in doing presentations. Maybe we should give it a shot,’” Satmar said. “And I’d say, ‘Okay,’ and then we work together to come up with how that would work. She’s awesome.”

Reimann decided to sponsor this club because she finds history just as interesting as Satmar does. The club has short presentations to learn facts, but there are fun games such as History Pictionary and History Cards Against Humanity to make history more enjoyable.

“When there’s a bunch of students are interested in doing something, as a teacher, I can facilitate that. It’s not just a part of my job. That’s the enjoyable part. So why not? It’s fun,” Reimann said.

History Club also offers the opportunity to enjoy different aspects of history, learning and focusing on more events than what a classroom would teach. The club shows presentations and does other activities to learn history in an exciting way.

Satmar recommends this club for people who love to make history more entertaining. The club does not demand too little or too much of historical knowledge so it is a friendly club that invited everyone to join, says Satmar.

“I’m definitely very biased but I think it’s a lot of fun. It’s fairly tight-knit, and the people there are all very warm and accepting. We all try to make it fun. We’re all very interactive and it’s a place for all levels. So you don’t have to know every intricate little corner of history. We come in, we do a recap and then have fun with it,” Satmar said. 

If you are interested in a historically accurate conversation with these history buffs, drop on by history club on Thursday, November 14th after school.