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Announcing the 2024 Young Family Historians Essay Contest

This year's essay contest is now open for students enrolled in grades 4–12 in public, private, parochial, and home schools across the nation and US territories. Participants are asked to share a story from their personal family history and to explain how lessons from that story can apply to their life today.

Student writing and smiling

Family History Curriculum

The Family History Curriculum was created by our experts to empower students to investigate their personal connections to history. Lessons are accessible to all students regardless of background, ethnicity, or family structure.

FREE American Ancestors K-12 School Membership

K-12 schools can receive free member access to AmericanAncestors.org. Expand your lessons and immerse your students in our vast collection of historical records and more than 1.4 billion searchable names.

National History Day

Are you a student working on a National History Day project? Our expert staff is happy to help you apply genealogical research practices to enhance your project. We can answer questions about your research process and suggest areas of improvement for your project.

Youth Education Resources

Discover more resources and activities to engage young people with family history research.

Virtual Field Trips

Take a field trip without leaving your classroom! Introduce your students to the concepts, benefits, and joys of family history. Students will learn how to think like a genealogist and discover how to trace families back in time.

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Dustin Axe, Youth Genealogy Curriculum Coordinator

Dustin Axe joined the staff at NEHGS in 2019. He is a seasoned educator with over twenty years of experience teaching multiple subjects and developing curricula for students across numerous educational settings.

Dustin Axe