October may be mostly known for Halloween, but it’s also National Family History Month.
To celebrate, the Idaho Falls FamilySearch Center is doing an open house for the entire month.
“The open house is basically to invite the community, no matter who they are and what their interest might be, to come by and see what we have,” said Don Sparhawk, a volunteer for the Center. “We show them the software programs that they could be using. We have equipment that people can come in and use, and it’s all free, if you can believe it.”
Sparhawk says there are more than 100 volunteers who come in throughout the week to help attendees.
There is a wide variety of activities happening, including classes almost every day available both in-person and over Zoom, center tours and a recipe-sharing event on Saturday, Oct. 18, where people are invited to bring a favorite family dish.
The Idaho Falls center isn’t the same as every other FamilySearch Center.
“It’s considered a regional FamilySearch Center, one of 15 or 16 centers around the world,” Sparhawk said. “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has invested into these regional centers, and they have the latest equipment. It’s pretty amazing what’s available.”
Sparhawk says it’s important for people to learn about their ancestors, and that it’s helped him learn more about himself.
“I feel like I’ve learned about who I am and where I came from through learning stories about my own ancestors,” Sparhawk said. “I kind of feel a sense of pride in who I am, trying to understand where I came from.”
Sparhawk is excited for people to learn new things about their own families.
“I would guarantee that practically anybody who comes into that center will find information about their own family, things that they didn’t know,” Sparhawk said. “There are people there who can help you if you don’t know the first thing. We could find a lot of information about your family.”
The FamilySearch Center is open Monday through Saturday, and opens daily at 9 a.m. The Center closes at 8 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, and 5 p.m. Monday, Friday and Saturday.