Family Search Center works to involve youngsters
By Sharon Haddock
Mormon TimesPublished: 2010-04-19 00:25:50
SALT LAKE CITY -- Watch out. One of the interactive children's stations at the Family Search Center may just pull you directly into doing genealogy.
For instance, it's quite possible that once you start helping your child figure out what great-grandma wore to her wedding or tracing her ship's path from Liverpool, England to New York, you'll be hooked.
That's part of the overall plan, says the center manager, Sandra Joseph.
"The idea really is to promote family togetherness," Joseph said. "We want to be welcoming. The purpose is to have a fun family experience."
So while children are intrigued with the coloring, the word searches, the crossword puzzles, grandpa's wood shop and grandma's kitchen with the old-fashioned stove with a coal bucket sitting alongside, and a wooden table and cupboards, they and their parents get caught up too in finding out more about grandma, grandpa and their lives.
They can check out what a headstone is, make a rubbing, look at the "funny" old pictures of boys in frilly dresses and girls in bonnets.
They can sit in the Red Flyer and push the pedals or pretend to cook dinner on the iron stove.
They can sort Mormon temple pictures or play with the train.
Joseph said the center has had the children's center for a little over a year and the staff have plans to add much more.
Ian Jardine plays on the miniature carpenter's bench in the children's area of the Family Search Center inside the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. Photo: Mike Terry, Deseret News
Older children can move from the play area to the computers to find a link (Especially for Youth) made just for kids where they can create a simple family tree to take home.
Joseph encourages families to come and "play" in the center.
She knows that once people start asking questions about their heritage it leads quite naturally to serious research.
For that reason, she and her staff of volunteers, including sister missionaries, work at making the center homey.
"We are not the library. You don't have to be quiet and you can touch things," she said. "But we are not a babysitter. We want parents to stay with their children and participate together."
Joseph and her staff have even created scavenger hunts that encourage the children to find things all over the center by reading wall displays, charts and maps.
"I see kids come in out of curiousity and bring their parents. Pretty soon, the whole family is involved," she said.
The center is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
There is no charge for using the center located in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building.
E-mail: haddoc@desnews.com
MormonTimes.com is produced by the Deseret News in Salt Lake City, Utah.
It is not an official publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
--
Benicio Samuel Sanchez
Email: samuelsanchez@genealogia.org.mx
Website: http://www.Genealogia.org.mx
Cell Phone (81) 1667-2480
"Haz tu Arbol Genealogico...El Arbol mas Hermoso de la Creacion"
Por medio de la historia familiar descubrimos el árbol más hermoso de la creación: nuestro árbol genealógico. Sus numerosas raíces se remontan a la historia y sus ramas se extienden a través de la eternidad. La historia familiar es la expresión extensiva del amor eterno; nace de la abnegación y provee la oportunidad de asegurarse para siempre una unidad familiar".
(Élder J. Richard Clarke, Liahona julio de 1989, pág.69)
--
Has recibido este mensaje porque estás suscrito al grupo "Genealogia Mexico Sureste" de Grupos de Google.
Para publicar una entrada en este grupo, envía un correo electrónico a genealogia-mexico-sureste@googlegroups.com.
Para anular tu suscripción a este grupo, envía un correo electrónico a genealogia-mexico-sureste+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
Para tener acceso a más opciones, visita el grupo en http://groups.google.com/group/genealogia-mexico-sureste?hl=es.
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario