At Home Activities

Find your roots at home!

Parents, even though most of our site is here to support schools and teachers in their use of the MLK Genetics & Genealogy Curriculum, here are eight activities you can do right away to light the fire of learning in your own seedlings!

Future Genealogists, explore the activities below to learn more about yourself and your family, and begin to document your own family history for posterity. These activities are designed to get you started on your own quest to find your roots.

 

Family tree print out spread out on a desk

Activity 1

The Family Tree
Grandfather poses with his arms around his two granddaughters.

Activity 2

Family Interviews
NASA image of North and South American shot from space.

Activity 3

Trace Your Family's Migration

Young woman pointing at her hair to indicate an observable trait.

Activity 4

Observable Traits Survey
A kid scrunches his face in discomfort after tasting a very bitter substance

Activity 5

Test Your Family for the Ability to Taste Bitterness
Plate with five bright red, ripe strawberries

Activity 6

Extract DNA from Strawberries
A migrant woman with a small child in an old 1930s era vehicle. Oskaloosa, Kansas. October 1938. Credits: John Vachon; The Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division

Activity 7

Research a Historical Person
Kid holding a DNA model made of Twizzlers, Gummy Bears, and toothpicks in front of his face.

Activity 8

Intro to DNA & Making a Twizzler DNA Model

Other Resources

Genealogy for Youth

American Ancestors and New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) is America’s founding genealogical organization and the most respected name in family history. NEHGS assisted in the creation of the Finding Your Roots Genetics & Genealogy curriculum and provided genealogists as guest experts to assist the kids in all the research camps.