Museum at Home is a new weekly blog series offering fun and educational hands-on activities for children to do at home over the summer. Each week throughout July and August, the St. Catharines Museum will post a new history-inspired activity aimed to spark curiousity and learning.

Every family has a story. What’s yours? In Family History for Kids!, you can become a family history detective and discover your family history and roots!

Materials

• A way to connect with a family member, either in-person (in your bubble, or keeping safely physically distant), over the phone, or video call.
• Paper
• Pen or pencil

Family History for Kids!

Every family has a story. Getting to know the stories that make up your family history is so important to understanding your parts of your own roots and identity.

The passing of family stories from one generation to the next is part of a long standing-oral tradition that spans across millennia. Sharing stories connects us closer with those in our circles. It’s also way to learn from the people we look up to.

Below, you’ll find a few tools you can use to become family history detectives, and gather stories of your family’s history.

Activity

Interview an older family member about their lives. Use what you’ve learned to write a story or draw a picture telling a part of your family’s history.

Instructions

1. Get in touch with an older family. This can be in person, if they are part of your social bubble, or over the phone or with video call. 
2. To get the conversation going, refer to the Family History Detective Tool Sheet, linked below.
3. Ask if you can record the conversation. Take notes on the tool sheet.
4. Write a story or draw a picture based on your family member’s life and what you learned by listening to them.  
5. Share what you learned with your family! The most important part about oral tradition, is sharing the tradition!

We’d love for you to share what you’ve learned with us, too! Share your story or picture on social media, and tag us on Twitter or Instagram at @stcmuseum #stcmuseum or find us on Facebook! Your family’s history is St. Catharines’ history!