My trip to RootsTech starts in less than a week, and I haven’t packed, but I’ve done a few things you might like to do to plan your trip or online experience.
In case you didn’t know, RootsTech is the largest genealogy event in the world. It is held in Salt Lake City and is live and online from February 29th to March 2nd. Three million people signed up for RootsTech in 2023, so I’m sure that number will be even higher this year. This is the total number, but approximately fifteen thousand attend in person. So, if you are going in person, it’s essential to plan.
The theme for this year’s event is Remember. As genealogists, we remember those who came before us, and it’s through our genealogy that we keep their stories alive. I believe it’s also important to remember that someday we’ll be someone’s ancestors, so we need to learn how to tell our own stories.
Each day, there is a keynote address.
- Thursday, February 29, is Henry Cho
- Friday, March 1, is Lynne M. Jackson
- Saturday, March 2, is Kristin Chenoweth
Those sessions are at 11:00 a.m. Mountain time, but the educational sessions start at 8:00 a.m. There are a total of 352 sessions. 150 are online, and 264 are in person. If you’re scheduling from your computer, it might be confusing, so I like to use the RootsTech app, which you can find on your app store.
The app is excellent for creating your schedule and accessing the “Relatives at RootsTech.” I have friends with 30,000 cousins, but I only had 279 when writing this blog. It’s a fun way to find cousins and connect. (you’ll see how many of your cousins are at the live event).
Here’s how I create my schedule, which might work well for you, too. Using the app, you can choose Speakers. You can also go to the three lines representing “More” and choose Speakers. Then, I scrolled through and found the speakers I knew and enjoyed. When I find one, I click on their profile, and then I can see the sessions they will participate in. Then, it’s easy to add the session to my schedule and continue searching and finding another.
You can look and choose only online or only in person events, but I’m choosing them all, and I don’t worry if I have more than one is scheduled for the same time.
(above, you’ll see the +1 on the schedules, which shows I have one additional to the two listed)
Now, when I go to my schedule, I can see all the sessions I want to attend. I could clean up and just pick one, but I could also leave the extra just in case one session is trendy and there isn’t any seating left. That sometimes happens when a popular talk might not have been put in a large enough space. If that happens, I can quickly check the schedule and see where I could go to an alternative talk. Or if I’ve chosen an online talk, I can go back and check it later.
Be sure to check for syllabuses when looking at each of the talks. You can download the syllabus to your smartphone or your computer.
By scheduling on my phone, I can see any blank spots where I might schedule another talk or just save that time for walking and enjoying the Expo Hall. Be sure to enter my contest this year, as I’ll be searching the Expo Hall like a ninja to find the best prize. The prize is always a surprise; its value is $100 U.S. You can learn more about my contest HERE.
My favorite place is the Expo, and I always leave lots of time to explore to see what’s new or interesting in genealogy and DNA. You can learn about the exhibitors on the app just by going to those three lines and searching for the exhibitors. Here, you’ll find both virtual and in-person booths.
I can’t wait for next Thursday, February 29th. Leap Day is the first day of RootsTech. Get ready, and be sure to enter the contest. Check social media to see what I’ve found as part of the prize.
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