MORGANTOWN – Considering 1776.

When the Governor’s Schools for the state’s top-performing high school students convene this summer, the bulk of the proceedings will be centered around a certain birthday celebration.

The schools are commemorating America250 with a host of expos and events regarding the Republic – where it’s been, and where it’s going – through the 21st century and beyond. 

“Voices of 1776,” is the name of a seminar-style series with guest speakers and discussions geared around the debates of freedom and civic responsibility leading up to the watershed year that changed everything.

“The America250 Student Innovation Expo,” will be more the same – only with student voices, organizers said.

Participants discuss and exhibit their projects and research hearkening back to those first days of the Republic – and how those same sparks remain relevant in the present.

The schools and academies have a history of their own going back to their first summer in 1984 when those first students were invited to stay in college dorms across the state so the learning could commence.

Subsequent students over the years have delved into DNA and the medical, ethical ramifications of what happens when you try to manipulate it.

They’ve learned the ancient techniques that make mummies, well, mummies, while also moving to the politics and particulars of an equally ancient form: Appalachian clog-dancing.

It all kicks off June 20 – West Virginia’s 163rd birthday – with a series of Mountain State road trips through the Governor’s School for Tourism.

The Governor’s Computer Science Institute gathers on the campus of West Virginia University Tech beginning July 6.

In Morgantown, the centerpiece Governor’s Honors Academy assembles at West Virginia University the week of July 11 – while the Governor’s School for the Arts at West Virginia Wesleyan commences the week of June 21.

Marshall University hosts the Governor’s School for Entrepreneurship beginning the week of July 17.

Students will learn how to make bottles at the landmark Blenko Glass factory while also creating their own postcards in another session.

They’ll also be treated to live performances of folk, bluegrass and other Appalachian-themed music.

On June 20, 2024, the first year for the Governor’s School of Tourism, students boarded a charter bus for a West Virginia-themed road trip all about the state’s Colonial and Civil War-steeped history.

The bus didn’t stop until 1,000 miles were added to its odometer.

And Justin Lambert, the state Department of Education administrator who coordinates the schools and academies, loved every mile and every moment of the inaugural excursion. 

“How’s that for a 161st?” the former Advancement Placement history teacher asked then.