A student project from the Virginia B. Ball Center for Creative Inquiry has received national recognition for excellence in preservation of state and local history.

The American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) has awarded the center a Certificate of Commendation for the project "Intersections: Traces and Trails of Wayne County." The museum exhibit was developed and constructed during the 2004 fall semester by 15 Ball State students.

"Intersections" examines historic routes, such as the Quaker Trail, the Underground Railroad, the National Road and the Whitewater Canal, and the impact each had on Wayne county. The exhibit opened at the Wayne County Historical Society in November and is now traveling to schools throughout Indiana. Portions of the DVD that accompanies the exhibit are being incorporated into several programs at Conner Prairie, the internationally renowned living history museum in Fishers.

The AASLH Annual Awards program, in its 60th year, is the most prestigious recognition for achievement in state and local historical preservation. Awards for 2005 represent 87 organizations and individuals from the United States.

"This is a group that honors professional organizations such as Old Sturbridge Village, the Smithsonian Institution and the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. It is very exciting that professional historians acknowledge Ball State undergraduate students as doing meritorious work," said Ron Morris, associate professor of history and project coordinator.

The award will be presented at the AASLH annual conference in Pittsburgh, Pa. on Sept. 24. For more information about the awards program, visit www.aaslh.org.