Thursday, April 2, 2015

The FamilySearch Discovery Center near Temple Square

This weekend I was lucky enough to visit the FamilySearch Discovery Center near Temple Square in Salt Lake City and it was a blast! Everyone in my group had fun, whether they were beginners or more experienced genealogists.
Becky on her way to learn more about her ancestors

Mom and I finding out the meaning of her name

 If you're going to be in Salt Lake City soon, I highly recommend it! Before you do, though, there are a few things you should do first in order to maximize your experience.
  • Make sure you know your FamilySearch log in information. If you have a hard time remembering it, write it down and bring it with you. You're not going to want to waste time trying to recover your password!
  • Make sure your tree is set up on Family Search (at least try to connect to a deceased ancestor on each of your lines)
  • Make sure the people who are coming with you have these things done too! (Children too! Anyone 8 and up can have a FamilySearch account)
  • Consider bringing an empty memory drive so that you can record memories at the discovery center and then bring them home with you. You could also bring some photos of a recent family vacation or some interview questions to help get you talking.
Mom showing me how we're related to pioneers (she was shocked!)
How to find it:

The Discovery Center is in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building near Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah. It's hidden in the left corner of the FamilySearch Center which is on the north-east side of the building. The building (and Temple Square) is crawling with missionaries and volunteers, so if you need help finding it just ask someone with a nametag for the "FamilySearch Discovery Center" and I'm sure they'll get you there.

While you're there consider visiting the Family History Library on the other side of Temple Square where there are experts waiting to help you begin or continue your family history research.

If you can't make it to Utah check out these links for a similar (though slightly less exciting) family history discovery experience:


Special thanks to my friends Becky Irving and Andrea Choy for taking these great pictures!

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