NEH K-12 Summer Institute at Monmouth College (Monmouth, IL): The Ancient Olympics and Daily Life in Ancient Olympia: A Hands-On History (July 6-18, 2026)
Two SCS Members, Bob Holschuh Simmons (Monmouth College, Monmouth, IL) and Nathalie Roy (Glasgow Middle School, Baton Rouge, LA), were one of seven applicant chosen to receive a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to carry out a Summer Institute in 2026 as part of the NEH's Institutes for K-12 Educators program: NEH Announces $34.79 Million for 97 Humanities Projects | National Endowment for the Humantities. Their institute is titled "The Ancient Olympics and Daily Life in Ancient Olympia: A Hands-On History," and they are receiving $175,000 to carry it out at Monmouth College from July 6-18, 2026 for 26 selected K-12 teachers. Participants will closely study primary and secondary written and material resources, from which they will reconstruct the mechanics of a range of ancient Olympic events and of Mediterranean daily life activities, including weaving, concrete construction, and the creation of ink through several ancient methods. They will then carry out those activities themselves, and learn how to teach their own students to do the same. Simmons and Roy carried out the same institute in 2024. Here is the current version of the Institute website, which includes material from the 2024 edition as well: https://sites.google.com/view/nehancientolympics/home.
Applications for this and other NEH institutes for Summer 2026 are scheduled to open on December 1, and directors Simmons and Roy encourage K-12 teachers at all levels, in all relevant disciplines, and from anywhere in the nation to apply. Chosen applicants will perceive stipends that will cover their travel and the cost of the Institute, while leaving them some funds left over.
