Fourth-grade students and teachers still have time to participate in the 2007-2008 State Archives Fourth Grade School Census Project of the South Dakota State Historical Society.

The goal is to get 1,000 fourth grade students to take the census this school year, a news release stated. So far, 451 fourth graders and 24 teachers have participated in the program.

While not a scientific poll, this census offers some insight into fourth-grade students throughout South Dakota, said Matthew T. Reitzel, manuscript archivist with the State Archives.

The census asks students questions such as, Number of students in your classroom? Have you been to Mount Rushmore? Do you have a pet? and What is the distance from your home to your school?

The deadline for submitting the census results is May 1.

To help reach their goal, the State Archives will offer a presentation of historical images of South Dakota to one of the fourth-grade classes that participate in the project.

"This is a completely voluntary project," Reitzel said. "The number of fourth-graders who have participated in the census program has increased over time. Hopefully, we will have more fourth-graders take the census this year."

For more information, visit the State Historical Society's Web site at www.sdhistory.org. Materials for the school census are found under the "In the Spotlight" column in the "4th Grade School Census" link.

The State Archives, located in the Cultural Heritage Center, is open from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and the first Saturday of each month.