1. Anytime Activities   2. Plan-Ahead Activities   3. Making Family History   4. Documenting the Past   5. Social Media Activities   6. Service Activities   7. Activities for Research   For Latter-day Saints     Family    Individuals    Kids Corner   |    Index    YOUTH HOME       Print Friendly and PDF

  










Youth Activities


1. Anytime Activities


* Youth  |   Family  |   Individuals  |   Kids Corner



Family history activities are a way to get to know those who have gone before, write about their lives, and to learn from and be inspired by their experiences. Family history activities are also a way to connect with living family members, create and write your own family history, and make fun memories. Check out the Youth section for additional resources and ideas.

Read this article to learn how being involved with family history can improve the psychological well-being of young adults.


1. Anytime Activities and Games

Overview: With modern technology, family history activities can be a snap! You might just need an idea and a little nudge in the right direction to discover that family history can be a fun and inspirational part of your life!


Activities marked by an asterisk (*) take little or no prep time.


Y1-01: Not Just for Kids!
Everyone can have fun finding out more about their ancestors and family trees. You can be a big help to younger children to teach them how to play games. You can also participate with them in exploring family trees, timelines, and more.
Find some cool games and activities in the FamilySearch Solutions Gallery

Y1-02: Google Maps/Google Earth
View and share memories of family history sites, travels, missions, houses, (countries, counties, etc.) and places where family members have lived (or now live). Try Google Earth and Street View Stories to get started. For more fun (and for research), use The Family History Guide Countries page along with Google Earth (see blog post)


Y1-03: LifeHacker ... What Kids Should Know about their Family's History
Here's a great questionnaire for a family history interview. Try it out and see what you can learn about your own family history. You can find the 20 Questions for the interview ("Do You Know" Scale) here.

Y1-04: Scholastic: Joining the Generations with Genealogy
Explore a family history detective kit, printable charts, and more, in this online article from Scholastic.com.

Y1-05: Create Personal Histories
Keep a journal, create a scrapbook, write stories, and use social media to record the stories of your life. With a camera or smartphone, pictures of events and family members can be put in a photo book, shared on social media and added to FamilySearch and other sites.

(Blog)

*Y1-06: Photo Identification Game
Keep the memories of your ancestors alive with this photo identification game from FamilySearch. You will need to sign up for a FamilySearch account if you don't already have one. Find more fun activities on FamilySearch/discovery.

*Y1-07: AncestorGames from the BYU Family History Technology Lab
Try these fun and challenging ancestor word games online, from the BYU Family History Technology Lab:


*Y1-08: Relative Finder
Does your family descend from royalty? Maybe you are related to a famous movie star. Become familiar with Relative Finder and discover who you are related to. This is a fun way you can introduce friends and family to family history. (Individuals will need information in their FamilySearch Family Tree in order for this to work. If they have not added their information to Family Tree, you can help them add it.)


*Y1-09: Relatives Around Me
A fun way to introduce individuals to family history is with Relatives Around Me. When you are with a group of people (within about 100 feet of each other), have everyone sign into the FamilySearch Family Tree app. Everyone will be able to see how they are related to others. Try it in church groups, out with friends, with co-workers or even with your neighbors as you are visiting. (If any individuals have not added their information to FamilySearch Family Tree, the app won’t be able to find their relatives. To help these friends, visit the Getting Started page. You can help them add their families to the Family Tree.)



Find more activities here: 2. Plan-Ahead Activities   3. Making Family History   4. Documenting the Past   5. Social Media Activities   6. Service Activities   7. Activities for Research   8. Latter-day Saint Activities