Discovery Experience
Family History Center Discovery Experiences
Purpose and Vision for Family History Centers
Family history centers help families and youth experience the joy of discovering their families and
fulfilling their divinely appointed responsibility to submit their names for temple ordinances. Centers
accomplish this purpose in the following ways:
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Centers offer families, including youth, experiences that turn their hearts to their ancestors.
Centers help youth and families to recognize that we all belong and we all have a valuable story
worth sharing and preserving.
Centers inspire and help members engage in family history activities, including sharing and
preserving family stories and photos, indexing, research, and submitting names to the temple.
Centers are a resource for priesthood leaders to minister in the work of salvation.
Centers provide one-on-one assistance, training, and research expertise, and convenient access
to family history resources.
Providing Heart-Turning Experiences at Family History Centers
Objectives
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Ensure that these foundational experiences are being offered:
o Help with the My Family: Stories That Bring Us Together booklet and adding names to
the Family Tree.
o Step-by-step guidance for submitting names to the temple.
o Assistance with scanning and adding photos and stories to Family Tree.
Implement other discovery experiences designed to turn members’ hearts. A list of suggested
experiences, with simple guidelines, is provided.
Discovery Experience
MY FAMILY: STORIES THAT BRING US TOGETHER
ABOUT
Objective
Families will be able to capture and preserve their family story using the booklet My Family: Stories That
Bring Us Together.
Audience
Adults, youth, and children
DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITY
Help members capture and preserve their family story using the My Family: Stories That Bring Us
Together booklet. You may want to post a message in your center inviting members to ask you for help.
For example, “Ask us about My Family: Stories That Bring Us Together.”
Assist members in the following ways:
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Keep copies of My Family: Stories That Bring Us Together at the family history center to be ready
to help members as needed.
Encourage members to get started with family history by reaching out and talking to their
parents and grandparents, to gather family photos and stories, and record them in the booklet.
Help members to complete the booklet by providing personal assistance, family or group
activities, or classes.
As you help members with the booklet, encourage them to share their stories with you and with
each other, if they feel comfortable doing so. Sharing family stories is a good way to invite the
Spirit.
Help those who have completed the booklet to transfer their family information, photos, and
stories into Family Tree.
Help members to select and print requests for temple ordinance work for family members
whom they discover while completing the booklet.
Resources
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Copies of My Family: Stories That Bring Us Together.
Access to FamilySearch.org.
Helper Video and Helper Guide, located at: www.familysearch.org/myfamily.
Printers/scanner for scanning photos.
Discovery Experience
SUBMITTING NAMES TO THE TEMPLE
ABOUT
Objective
The family history center will provide resources, assistance, and encouragement for members to submit
names to the temple.
Audience
Adults, youth, and children
DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITY
Ensure that your center is organized to make it easy for members to submit names to the temple. Make
the center computers accessible to members at times convenient for them. Ensure that the center staff
is trained on how to help members to use the Family Tree, including the Temple features. Be prepared
to help them with their member log-in to FamilySearch.org. For members who have difficulty using
computers, use the Helper function in Family Tree to input information on their behalf. Help those who
are using the My Family: Stories That Bring Us Together booklet to enter names from their four
generations into the tree and submit any names that qualify for temple ordinances. (Ensure that they
obtain permission, where necessary, and follow the 110 year rule.) Assist them as best you can to search
for new names to add to their tree from family memory or from research.
You may want to post something on the bulletin board to invite members to ask for help to submit
names, or even list the basic steps in a prominent place for them to see.
To the extent possible, configure the center in such a way as to make it easy for a helper to sit next to a
member to assist with temple submissions. Ensure that the printer is properly connected and working
properly, and is well-stocked with paper and toner, for printing Family Ordinance Requests.
Resources
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Access to FamilySearch.org.
Optionally, a poster or bulletin board for displaying simple information about how to submit
names.
Printer for printing Family Ordinance Requests.
FamilySearch.org training on how to submit names to the temple.
Discovery Experience
SCANNING AND UPLOADING PHOTOS
ABOUT
Objective
Visitors to the family history center will scan their ancestral photos and upload them to Family Tree;
their hearts will be turned to their families, and they will desire to submit the names of their ancestors
for temple work.
Audience
Adults, youth, and children
DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITY
Invite visitors to bring family photos to the family history center to scan. Help them scan their photos
and upload them to Family Tree, and add the people in the photos to the Tree. Teach them how to tag
and attach the photos to the correct person or people in Family Tree. While photos are being scanned
and imported to the tree, encourage visitors to share stories about their ancestors.
If you are not familiar with scanning and attaching photos to Family Tree, practice both of these
activities until you are comfortable with the process.
Resources
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Lexmark Scanner or other scanner and software connected to family history center computers.
Internet connection to FamilySearch Family Tree.
FamilySearch or LDS Account with log-in and password.
Ancestral photos.
Discovery Experience
CREATING A DESIGNATED FAMILY AREA IN THE FAMILY HISTORY CENTER
ABOUT
Objective
Families will feel welcome in family history centers and experience an environment in which they can
participate together in activities that will inspire and motivate them to become engaged in the work of
salvation.
Audience
Family members of all ages, including multigenerational families
DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITY
In coordination with priesthood leaders and your local facility manager, create a designated area in the
family history center or the meetinghouse for families to participate together in family history activities
and discovery experiences. For example, if the center space is limited, you could use the primary room,
the nursery, or the cultural hall.
Schedule and reserve meeting rooms as needed to facilitate activities for families.
Resources
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A table and chairs where a family can be seated and work together on a family history activity or
discovery experience.
If there is space and budget available, perhaps a colorful rug or a small children’s table and chair
set can be added.
Discovery Experience
WHAT HAPPENED THE DAY YOU WERE BORN
ABOUT
Objective
Family members will explore what happened in history on the day they or their ancestors were born.
Audience
Families (children, youth, adults)
DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITY
Gather families around a computer (you can divide large families into two smaller groups) where they
will learn about worldwide or country or region-specific events that took place on the birthday or in the
birth year of family members or their ancestors.
The participants may record interesting facts in their journals or add them later to FamilyTree to
complement notes and stories. These facts generate conversation among family members that help
them think of the concepts of time and seasons, history, and the relevance of our own time and the way
we take advantage of it. As families look back in time with this activity, they also reflect on the
circumstances and challenges of their ancestors.
Resources
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Internet access to historical websites, such as:
o http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history
o http://dmarie.com/timecap/
o http://www.quepasoeldiaquenaci.com/
Writing instruments and notepads that participants can use to record interesting facts.
Discovery Experience
FAMILY HISTORY GAME NIGHT
ABOUT
Objective
Families will create games which are designed to help them learn about their ancestors and turn their
hearts towards them.
Audience
Family members of all ages
DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITY
Invite families to create different types of games which will help them to learn about their ancestors.
Families could choose from one or more of the following:
Matching game—Two identical cards are created using photos of family members, former homes, or
other items of significance to the family and posted on card stock squares. On the opposite side of the
cards, the items are numbered. Players pick two numbers and try to locate matches. The significance of
the items selected is discussed as the game is played.
Crossword Puzzles—The family brainstorms and comes up with a list of words that have significance to
the family. The words might be locations (where they have lived, significant events occurred), names of
family members, words that represent inside family jokes, etc. Once the list is created, they need to
write a single sentence that could be used as a clue. For example, the word might be “Manti” and the
clue might be “Name the city where Grandma and Grandpa Jones were married.” Using online tools, the
words and clues can be entered into a program which will create a customized crossword puzzle. (This is
a great idea for use at a future family home evening or family reunion.)
Game of Life—A game board is created and personalized with family events, such as the birth, marriage,
graduation, etc. of family members. Instead of a “go to jail” section, perhaps family members are sent to
experience a trial (unemployment, an illness, a new calling) that has occurred. Family members work
their way through the game toward their ultimate destination as an eternal family in the celestial
kingdom.
Getting to Know You Card Game—A set of cards are created, where one side of the card has a photo of
a family ancestor, and the other side of the card tells a story about the person’s life. Attributes worth
emulating can be identified. Players take turns asking, “Do you have a person who has (fill in the
attribute)? If not, ‘Go Fish.’”
Bingo—A card is developed with 9, 16, or 25 squares on it. Questions are listed in each square. Family
members who can answer the question can place a coin on the square. For example, name a scripture
Discovery Experience
that is related to family history; tell the name of your maternal grandmother, where your paternal
grandfather was born, what the profession of one of your great-grandparents was, etc.
Resources
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Families will need to bring photos and stories of their ancestors, which can be used to create the
games.
The following websites may be useful tools:
o http://www.discoveryeducation.com/free-puzzlemaker/
o http://bingobaker.com
o http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2011/03/the-family-memory-cardgame.html
o http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/08/playing-genealogy-board-game-whatfun.html
o http://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Family_History_Activities_for_Children:_3-11
Discovery Experience
NEW CONVERT NIGHT
ABOUT
Objective
New converts will engage in family history and receive help in preparing an ancestor’s name for
submission to the temple.
Audience
Converts to the Church of less than 2 years
DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITY
Invite new Church converts to the family history center. Invite a Church member they know and trust to
come with them. Ask the new convert to add as much information as he or she knows to the My Family:
Stories That Bring Us Together booklet, including photos and stories. If the convert cannot remember
family information, help by asking about a family story. Often this will jog a memory about dates and
places concerning a relative. Encourage the new convert to continue to work on the booklet at home,
but also invite him or her back for additional sessions at the family history center.
When the new convert is ready, help:
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Add names, photos, and stories to Family Tree.
Determine ancestors who need temple work completed.
Submit the names of ancestors who qualify for temple ordinances.
Resources
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My Family: Stories That Bring Us Together booklet.
Internet connection to FamilySearch.
LDS Account with username and password.
Ancestor photos—optional.
Discovery Experience
YOUTH ACTIVITY
ABOUT
Objective
Youth will become engaged in family history through a variety of activities that will provide
opportunities for them to turn their hearts to their ancestors.
Audience
Youth
DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITY
Primary Activity Days. Invite Primary leaders to hold an Activity Days activity in the center. You could
help the children fulfill the following items from the Learning and Living the Gospel portion:
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Prepare a pedigree chart with your name and your parents’ and grandparents’ names. Prepare a
family group record for your family, and share a family story. Discuss how performing temple
work blesses families.
Plan and complete your own activity that will help you learn and live the gospel. (For example,
you could help them learn about their cultural heritage or preserve family photos or stories.)
Young Women Personal Progress. Invite the young women and their leaders to come to the center and
work on one of the projects or experiences below, which are from the Personal Progress manual:
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Faith value project suggestion: Take a family history class in your ward or branch. Collect existing
stories of your relatives or others who have demonstrated faith, or interview family members or
others and record their stories.
Individual worth additional value experience #6: When you participate in family history, you
come to understand your identity and individual worth. Visit with your living relatives to learn as
much information about your family history as possible. Then complete a pedigree chart of your
family, and list the temple ordinances that have been completed for each person.
Individual worth value project suggestion: Compile your personal or family history using journal
entries, pictures, and important papers.
Good works value project suggestion: Work with a family member to gather the names of some
deceased relatives who were not members of the Church. Identify their birth and death dates,
and prepare their names to be taken to the temple. Help plan a temple trip, and do baptisms for
those relatives.
Integrity value project: Record examples of ways family members have demonstrated the
quality of integrity in their lives.
Young Men Duty to God. Invite the young men and their leaders to come to the center to work on a
portion of their Duty to God program requirementsusing the following ideas:
Discovery Experience
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Help the young men prepare doctrinal outlines on temples, or eternal families, and family
history work. Every two years, the young men must prepare an outline about a doctrinal topic.
These two items are included in a list from which they can choose. After preparing the outlines,
they should teach them to someone else, such as their quorum or their family.
Help the young men plan family history service projects that they could complete as part of their
plan to serve requirement, which they must complete every two years. These could include
capturing headstone images with the BillionGraves app, indexing, taking names to the temple,
or helping other members of the ward use family history technology.
Youth Indexing. Depending on the number of computers you have, invite a class or multiple classes of
youth from a ward to participate in an indexing activity. Have enough family history consultants
available to assist the youth as they learn how to index.
Youth Nights. Hold a youth night at least once a month, where you focus on helping them to learn
family history through classes or one-on-one assistance. Preferably, have youth family history
consultants available to assist on these nights.
Genealogy Merit Badge. Conduct a class for the genealogy merit badge. Ask the Scouts to complete a
recorded interview with a relative, a pedigree, and two family group records before attending. The rest
of the merit badge could be completed in less than two hours.
Resources
Primary Activity Days
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For the first learning and living the gospel activity, complete pedigree charts and family group
records.
For other activities you have selected, prepare the needed materials.
Young Women Personal Progress
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If they are completing the individual worth value experience, complete pedigree charts for each
young woman.
Internet access to FamilySearch.org will be a resource for completing this activity
Young Men Duty to God
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For the doctrinal outlines, prepare materials that will help the young men study the topic on
their own.
Youth Indexing
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Family history consultants can help youth who need assistance.
Youth Night
Discovery Experience
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Youth family history consultants can help at youth night activities.
Scouting Merit Badge
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Complete a pedigree and two family group sheets for each person.
ProvideInternet access to FamilySearch.org.
elpers who are certified merit badge counselors can assist with the activity (coordinate with
your local Boy Scout Council office).
See the article in the FamilySearch Research Wiki:
https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Boy_Scout_Merit_Badge_in_Genealogy
Discovery Experience
CULTURAL NIGHT
ABOUT
Objective
Families will experience life in another culture, and learn how the family history center can help people
learn about their own cultural heritage.
Audience
Families of all ages
DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITY
Select a particular culture to focus on for this event. Different activities are available for families to learn
about that culture.
For example, you might choose to host an Italian cultural night and offer the following activities:
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A passport or airline ticket could be provided to participants with a map of events and activities.
A photo could be taken of the family in front of a background representing Italian culture.
Photos could be posted on Facebook for families to access and share.
Posters or displays could focus on famous Italians or offer a time line of significant Italian
historical events.
A storyteller could share a story about the Church’s beginnings in Italy.
A video could be shown about the Rome Italy Temple, which is currently under construction.
Instruction could be provided on how to index Italian records.
Children could color pictures on butcher paper attached underneath a table (like Michelangelo
did on the Sistine Chapel ceiling).
An area could be identified where families are taught how to play a game from that country
(Bocce Ball).
Food samples from the country could be provided (such as a taste of Gelato).
Resources
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https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.248571878657444.1073741832.1983442170135
44&type=1
http://findyourfamily.me/?p=15
https://www.lds.org/manual/family-home-evening-resource-book/family-activities/our-culturalheritage?lang=eng
Discovery Experience
TRADITIONAL RECIPES
ABOUT
Objective
Families will learn more about the food their ancestors ate, which will help them relate more to their
ancestors.
Audience
Families (children, youth, and adults)
DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITY
Cultural Night
Extend an invitation to members of a ward or stake to submit traditional family recipes from a specific
culture that were passed down or that they have found on the Internet. Assign a staff member to collect
the recipes and place them in a similar format, such as listing the ingredients first, followed by
directions. Invite those who contributed a recipe to prepare it for the cultural night. As part of the
cultural night, distribute the collection of recipes.
Ward or Stake Project
Extend an invitation to members of a ward or stake to submit traditional family recipes that were passed
down or that they have found on the Internet. Inform them that they can sign up to receive a copy of
the recipes even if they do not contribute to the collection. Assign a staff member to collect the recipes,
organize them by culture, and place them in a similar format, such as listing the ingredients first,
followed by directions. Distribute the collection of recipes through e-mail or using another method.
Resources
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A method for receiving recipes. This could be done through e-mail, a box at church where
individuals could drop off their recipe, or another method.
A method for signing up to receive a copy of the recipes. This could be done through e-mail, a
sign-up sheet at church, or another method.
A method for distributing the recipes. This could be done through e-mail, at a ward activity, or
another method.
Discovery Experience
MUSIC OF OTHER CULTURES
ABOUT
Objective
Families will experience music from other cultures, especially music from the place and time of their
ancestors.
Audience
Families (children, youth, and adults)
DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITY
Organize musical events in your center. Invite families, youth, or primary groups to enjoy some music
from other cultures and time. This activity will be more effective if you first find out the culture and time
of their ancestors. This will help them think about them as they listen or sing along.
Invite musicians to the center to play live, or have a good quality music player and a selection of
recorded music typical of the culture you want to feature.
Encourage the audience to pay attention to their feelings as they listen. They can record these feelings
while or after listening to the music. Help them “discover” new things about their ancestors.
Resources
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Musicians to play live music.
A good quality music player and a selection of music.
Discovery Experience
HEIRLOOM NIGHT
ABOUT
Objective
Families will make a personal connection with their ancestors, feel the spirit of Elijah, and actively begin
to engage in the work of salvation.
Audience
Families (children, youth, and adults)
DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITY
Invite a group of three to five families to the family history center. Ask them to bring a favorite family
heirloom. The families each take a turn sharing the heirloom they brought, talking about the ancestor it
belonged to and why the item has significance to the family.
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Families could take a photo of the item, write a story about the significance of the item, and add
the story to the ancestor’s person page in family tree.
Families could think about and discuss the things that they own and value today. What items
symbolize family values? What items might become heirlooms for their posterity in the future?
Why?
Families could follow up after the activity with a family home evening where they create a
family time capsule. Families could include photos, goals for the future, and other items which
could be opened at a date in the future.
Resources
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Family heirlooms
Discovery Experience
GOOGLE EARTH
ABOUT
Objective
Families will use Google Earth software to explore streets and places where their ancestors once walked.
Audience
Families (children, youth, and adults)
DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITY
Invite youth, adults, and families to come to the center and explore places and streets where their
ancestors once lived.
Accommodate two to three individuals per computer to ensure a better experience. Encourage them to
generate discussions related to the places they’re looking for and the details they discover as they
explore. Help them think about their ancestors as they identify places where their family could have
been in past times, and establish a connection with these places and their ancestors.
Resources
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Internet access to Google Earth.
Discovery Experience
CREATE A VIDEO OR AUDIO RECORDING OF A STORY
ABOUT
Objective
Families will have a discovery experience by creating a video or audio recording of an ancestor’s or
family member’s story.
Audience
Families (children, youth, and adults)
DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITY
Use a corner of your center or a room in the meetinghouse as a place where families can create a video
or audio recording. Make sure that the place is quiet enough, and sufficiently lit, for video or audio
recording.
Encourage families to talk about how parents met and were married, the birth of children, baptisms, and
other special events. You could encourage stories by asking questions such as, “Do you remember when
you first met? What was so and so like when he or she was X years old?”
Help participants transcribe their stories so they can load them in their trees on FamilySearch.org.
Resources
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A video or sound recording device.
A location in the center or meetinghouse where video and audio recordings can be created.
A list of sample questions family members can ask during the recording.
https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Creating_Oral_Histories
Discovery Experience
MOM AND TOT STORY TIME
ABOUT
Objective
Mothers (or fathers) and their preschool age children will enjoy a creative and fun bonding experience
together at the family history center that instills a love for ancestors at a young age and is also
informative for parents.
Audience
Children (ages 2-5) and their moms (OK for dads, too)
DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITY
Schedule a regular time for moms to come with their pre-school age children for a simple and fun family
history activity. Prepare a variety of activities to offer, one or two for each time. The activities should be
engaging for the children, with moms helping their children do the activity. The activities will be
interactive and help the children discover simple things about their ancestors. They might involve some
arts and crafts, games, dress ups, etc., with a family history theme. They might also involve simple
activities using FamilySearch.org, such as looking at the Family Tree in portrait view or scanning and
uploading a photo, with mom’s help. In the process, moms will also learn basics of family history and
discover ways to share family history with their children.
Resources
A variety of materials can be used, depending on the activities you choose to provide.
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Basic children’s arts and crafts materials (paper, crayons, scissors, glue, colored construction
paper, etc.).
Photos of family members or ancestors from home.
Games, props, dress ups, etc.
An activity space, with table and chairs. If the center room is too small, you could use another
room in the building.
Access to FamilySearch.org.
Scanner/printer.
Discovery Experience
HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW ME?
ABOUT
Objective
Families will spend time together and learn more about each other, which will help them to see how
they are unique in their family and what they have in common.
Audience
Families, but this could work for any group.
DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITY
Give each member of the family a list of questions to respond to for this get-to-know-you activity. They
should write their own responses to the questions, and then they should write the way they think each
family member will answer the same questions. The following are sample questions you could include
on the list:
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What is your favorite dessert?
What is your favorite color?
What is your favorite song?
What do you most like to do for fun?
Where would you most like to go on vacation?
While they are writing down their answers, take one person at a time into another room to create an
audio recording of their responses to each question. Ask the person to say his or her full name. Read the
question, and respond to it. After each person finishes, pause the recording so every answer is part of
one large recording. When the recording is finished, give the recording to the family to keep.
Once everyone has filled out their list, they will play the recording, and each person will track how many
they answered correctly.
Resources
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Question lists.
Pens or pencils.
A recording device (provided by the patron).
Discovery Experience
LEARN ABOUT YOUR NAME
ABOUT
Objective
Youth and families will learn more about their first and last names, which will help them understand
their identity and family.
Audience
Youth and families
DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITY
Have parents tell each child why they were given their name, indicating if anyone was named after an
ancestor or relative. If anyone was named after an ancestor, have the parents share basic information or
a story about the ancestor. Check the Memories section of FamilySearch.org for any photos or stories
about an ancestor after whom a child was named.
Using the websites listed below or a Google search, look up the meaning and history of each person's
name.
Resources
English: www.houseofnames.com; http://www.ancestry.com/learn/facts;
http://names.whitepages.com/
German: http://www.ancestry.de/learn/learningcenters/facts.aspx (must be logged in, but you can use
a free account); http://christoph.stoepel.net/geogen/en/Default.aspx; http://www.verwandt.de/karten/
Portuguese: http://www.dicionariodenomesproprios.com.br/;
http://www.significadosnomes.com/2013/09/nomes.html
Spanish: http://www.misapellidos.com/; http://www.quesignificaminombre.com/;
http://www.significadodelosnombres.org/
French: http://www.geneanet.org/nom-de-famille/; http://www.geopatronyme.com/;
http://www.genealogie.com/nom-de-famille/
Overall: Wikipedia.org; http://www.geneanet.org/nom-de-famille/ (Access this site using Google
Chrome, translate it into the needed language, enter the surname, and then click on the continent and
country in which you are interested); http://www.ancestry.com/learn/facts (Access this site using
Google Chrome, translate it into the needed language, enter the name, and then learn about its
definition).
Discovery Experience
SCAVENGER HUNT OR DETECTIVE NIGHT
ABOUT
Objective
Families will learn how to do basic research through engaging games.
Audience
Adults, youth, and children
DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITY
1. Detective Night
Invite adults, youth, or children to come to a detective night at the family history center. Have them
look for clues about a person, a hometown village, or an ancestor’s occupation. These clues might be
from a Google search or other websites. Have them share with each other the unique things they
learned about the place or person. Provide small prizes for the clues they found.
If your center is located in the United States or Canada:
Invite adults or youth to come to a detective night at the family history center. Ask them to bring the
name of an ancestor who lived between 1850 and 1940, and an approximate birth year and birth date
for this ancestor. Additional information about the ancestor can be helpful, especially knowing the
name of the ancestor’s spouse or other family members.
Prepare a list of questions that participants will answer about one of their ancestors. The answers to the
questions should be found in census records. Here are some examples of questions you could include:
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Who are your ancestor’s siblings?
Did your ancestor have a radio (1930)?
What was your ancestor’s occupation?
Did your ancestor own or rent a house or farm?
What language did your ancestor and his or her parents speak?
Did your ancestor serve in a war?
Is your ancestor an immigrant? If so, what year did your ancestor immigrate?
Have adults or youth use FamilySearch Record Search or Ancestry Search to see how many census
records can be found for this ancestor, and find the answers to the questions.
Teach them how to attach and tag the census records in Family Tree.
Give prizes for the largest ancestor family, the oldest ancestor, and the most languages found, the
newest immigrant, etc.
Discovery Experience
2. Scavenger Hunt
Invite adults, youth, or children to come to a Scavenger Hunt at the family history center. Give them
clues about people to find in census and vital records, and have them look for information about the
person (similar to the questions used in the detective night activity). Have them share the record they
found and something interesting they learned about that person from the record.
Resources
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Internet connection to FamilySearch or Ancestry.com.
Access to the username and password for the person’s LDS Account.
List of questions that participants will answer about ancestors.
List of people to find in a census.
The name of an ancestor who lived between 1850 and 1940.
Discovery Experience
PUZZILLA
ABOUT
Objective
Church members will use Puzilla software to teach members how to search their Family Tree and to find
ancestors’ descendants who need temple ordinances completed.
Audience
Members who have established Family Trees with much of the temple work completed.
DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITY
This experience is available in English only.
If members are not familiar with Family Tree, they will need some Family Tree instruction before they
are ready to use Puzilla. If you are not familiar with using Puzilla, review the training video Finding Our
Cousins: Introduction to Puzilla.org on Puzilla.org. Practice finding cousins in your own family tree.
Invite members to search their Family Tree for cousins with incomplete families. Provide training on
using Puzilla as a finding tool for spouses or children who are missing in Family Tree. Help them add the
cousin’s information to Family Tree and search for possible duplicates. If no duplicates are found, help
them submit the name for temple ordinance work. Teach the members how to verify that the cousin
meets the 110-year rule.
Resources
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LDS Account with username and password.
Internet access to FamilySearch.org.
Internet access to Puzzilla.org.
Discovery Experience
WHO IS YOUR ANCESTOR?
ABOUT
Objective
Adults, youth, and children will learn about their ancestors and share what they learn in a game-like
environment.
Audience
Adults, youth, and children
DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITY
Invite a group to each bring a photo of an ancestor to the family history center. Post all the pictures and
have everyone try to match the photo with the descendant. You may find that the activity works better
if you gather and prepare the photos for display before the activity begins. While photos are being
shared, encourage participants to also share stories about their ancestors.
Invite family members to scan and attach these photos to Family Tree. Participants will need an LDS
Account with a valid username and password to use Family Tree.
Resources:
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Ancestor photos.
Ancestor stories (optional).
LDS Account username and password (optional).
Lexmark or other photo scanner connected to a family history center computer (optional).
Discovery Experience
ANCESTRAL ORIGINS MAP
ABOUT
Objective
Family history center patrons will feel a connection to places where their ancestors came from and to
other patrons as they visualize ancestral origins on a map.
Audience
All ages
DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITY
Display a map in your center, and invite patrons to mark where their ancestors came from. You could
suggest that they do so only for their first 3 or 4 generations. Depending on your patrons, you may want
to include a world map or a map of your country, or even your local state or region. You may also want
to display more than one map, such as one world map and one country map, to accommodate a variety
of ancestral origins.
Resources
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Maps
Bulletin board or other suitable space to display the maps.
Push pins or some other means of marking the map.
A poster or sign inviting patrons to participate, with simple instructions.
Discovery Experience
FAMILY HISTORY ACTIVITY SHEET
ABOUT
Objective
Family members of all ages will have a fun way to participate in very simple activities that help to turn
their hearts and get started with family history.
Audience
Families, including children, youth, and adults
DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITY
Create activity sheets with a variety of simple activities that can be done at home or as an easy family
activity outside the home. The activity sheets can be customized for different age groups
(recommended age groups: 3-6, 7-11, and 12-adult). Provide families with an activity sheet for each
family member.
The activity sheets can be designed however you choose. One option is to arrange the activities in a grid
pattern (5 squares by 5 squares) and invite participants to complete five activities in a row--across,
down, or diagonally. For an extra challenge, family members can try for “blackout”—completing all of
the activities on the sheet.
Examples of activities include such things as:
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Find out how your parents met and where they got married.
Draw a picture of your family at the temple.
Get your own log-in on FamilySearch.org.
Upload a picture of an ancestor to FamlySearch.org
Complete your own copy of the booklet My Family: Stories That Bring Us Together.
Find out how you got your name.
Collect your birth certificate and baptism certificate, and put them in archival sheet protectors.
Print a fan chart of your family from FamilySearch.org.
Invite families to bring completed activity sheets with them to the center to receive a small recognition
or reward. You might consider preparing a simple, short activity or presentation at the center for when
the families come.
Resources
 Photocopies of the activity sheets that you design.
 Recognition certificates for those who complete the activity.
 A small reward for those who complete the activity.
Discovery Experience
CONTACT YOUR RELATIVE
ABOUT
Objective
Individuals will feel connected to their relatives and ancestors through hearing and recording stories
about their lives.
Audience
All ages
DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITY
Encourage people to contact a relative in order to hear and record family stories. If desired, provide
them with a list of questions they could ask. They could contact their relative in person, by email, by
telephone, or any other way they have to contact a relative. They could record stories using paper and
pencil, video or audio recording, or other means to do so.
Invite them to come to the family history center to receive help in entering their family stories in Family
Tree.
Phone call from the center
If your center has Internet capacity and the Call Your Relative software, which requires a Twilio account
for your center, encourage people to call a relative from your center. When they arrive, provide a list of
questions they could ask and a pen or pencil to mark the list. Ask the patrons to inform you when ready
to begin the interview.
Guide each patron to a computer, and help him or her put on the headset. Open the program, at which
point the patron will follow the simple on-screen instructions.
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On the initial screen, the patron will enter a phone number and his or her e-mail address.
When the patron clicks to continue, the program will then call the phone number, and the entire
conversation will be recorded.
The phone call will be limited to 30 minutes, with a warning appearing when they have 5
minutes and 1 minute left.
After either party ends the call, the file will be e-mailed to the patron, and the program will
display a confirmation screen.
Resources
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Call Your Relative software, which requires a Twilio account for the center.
Interview question list—see https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Creating_Oral_Histories.
A headset, which may be helpful for this activity.