Search for family history at RootsTech, coming to the Salt Palace Feb. 3-6
The RootsTech conference is the largest family history event in the world. It starts next week at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City.
Lower Lights will perform at an evening show at RootsTech at the Salt Palace next week.
Steve Rockwood is the new CEO of FamilySearch, the family history arm of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
The RootsTech conference is the largest family history event in the world. It starts next week at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City.
Family Discovery Day will be held Saturday February 6 at the Salt Palace. The event is free for families.
SALT LAKE CITY – If you have the least bit of interest in any facet of family history, you may want to get down to the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City Wednesday-Saturday Feb. 3-6 for RootsTech, the largest family history conference in the world.
This is the fifth year for the conference sponsored by FamilySearch, the family history arm of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. About 21,000 people are expected to attend the free Family Discovery Day on Saturday.
The conference offers keynote speakers, specialty classes and a huge expo for everything about family history. Paul Nauta, public relations manager for RootsTech, said the event is for every level of those interested in family history.
“RootsTech has content specifically catered to nonstarters, beginners, and intermediate family history enthusiasts. There’s content for young and old, all generations of a family. Content helps attendees discover, share, and engage family members of all ages in their family’s memories and history,” Nauta said.
People can attend day by day or for the entire four-day event, which includes a large innovator’s showdown where people bring their new family history innovations and audiences can vote on their favorite. Prices for the conference range between $19 for a student day pass to $189 for the entire event from Wednesday to Saturday. Food is available at the Salt Palace as well.
The Family Discovery Day is free to the public, but people must register beforehand and Nauta suggests they hurry because it is expected to fill. The day is for families to hear instruction from LDS leaders on family history and also participate in hands-on activities relating to family history.
The Family Discovery Day is the only part of the conference that caters to a solely LDS audience, Nauta said. The rest of the event is for all faiths. Nauta said people come from all over the world for the event and can find information on ancestors all over the world. They may find help from different experts and vendors at the expo that may specialize in finding ancestors from one country or another.
Juan Balderas volunteers at the Ogden Family History Library and attends RootsTech. “It’s really highly motivating,” Balderas said. He always walks away from the conference feeling energized to do family history work. “There are super classes if you are a beginner and super classes if you want more detailed training,” Balderas said.
He likes the fact that those who do not have Utah roots (or who are not LDS) have a place at the conference. “The keynote speakers have a personal interest in family history but you wouldn’t think so before you heard them speak,” Balderas said. Balderas has also enjoyed that it’s not just for English speakers; there are some classes in Spanish, too.
Nauta said this year’s expo hall is bigger than ever before with over 200 vendors and there is a “Discovery Zone” where people can experience family history in a “hands-on” environment. There will also be product demonstrations in the expo hall every 30 minutes. “Think of it as Consumer Electronic Show meets Family History in the Now,” Nauta said.
People will also get to meet and get acquainted with Steve Rockwood, the new CEO of FamilySearch. You can register online for the conferenceand get more general information on the RootsTech website.