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A family history scavenger hunt: make a story walk for the grandchildren

A story walk is a route through a place that matters to your family, with a story waiting at each stop that can only be read by someone standing there. It takes an evening to set up and an afternoon to walk, and it turns a visit to the old neighborhood into something children ask to do again.

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What is a story walk?

It is a scavenger hunt where the prizes are family stories. You choose five to eight places within walking distance of each other, write a short story for each one, and lock each story to its spot. The walkers see a map of locked pins. Each story opens only when they are standing at its pin.

It is made with location-locked stories in Here My Story, a free personal memory map that runs in a phone's web browser.

What do you need?

  • A free Here My Story account for the person setting up the walk.
  • A neighborhood, village or town center where several family places are close together.
  • One phone with mobile data and location switched on for each group of walkers.
  • An adult to walk with younger children.

How do you set it up?

  1. Choose the stops. Five to eight is plenty. Keep the whole route to a distance your youngest walker can manage.
  2. Check each stop is somewhere people can stand. A sidewalk, a park, a churchyard or a town square. If a family house now belongs to someone else, put the pin on the street outside.
  3. Add a story at each stop. Choose "Add a story," zoom all the way in and place the pin precisely.
  4. Write three to five sentences, in the voice of the person whose story it is. Include one thing the walkers can look for while they stand there: a doorway, a tree, a name carved in stone.
  5. Switch on "Only readable at this place" for every stop.
  6. Add one unlocked story at the starting point. Use it to explain the game: how many stories there are to find, and anything the walkers need to know.
  7. Share the map. Invite each adult by email, or switch on the public link and send it to the family group chat.
You are outside number 14. In 1958 your great-grandmother stood on this step every afternoon at four, waiting for the bread van. Look up: the bedroom window on the left was your grandfather's. He climbed out of it twice and was caught both times.
Example of a story for one stop

How does the walk work on the day?

  1. Open the map on a phone. The locked stories show as pins with a lock.
  2. Walk to one. Within about 200 meters (650 feet) of the pin, open it and choose "I'm here, unlock it."
  3. Allow the browser to use the phone's location when it asks.
  4. Read the story out loud, and look for the thing it mentions.
  5. Move on to the next pin.

Give the phone to the children and let them navigate. Finding the place is the game.

Which places make good stops?

  • The house someone grew up in
  • The school gate
  • The corner where the store used to be
  • The church, temple or hall where a wedding took place
  • The factory gate, shop front or office door of a first job
  • A park bench, a bridge or a tree with a story attached
  • A war memorial with a family name on it
  • A grave, if the cemetery is open to visitors and the family is comfortable with it

What about relatives who can't walk it?

Afterwards, edit each story and switch "Only readable at this place" off. Everyone who can view the map can then read the stories from home. You could also walk it for them on a video call and read each story aloud at its spot.

What should you be careful about?

  • Stay on public ground. Don't place a pin where walkers would have to cross private land to get close.
  • Mind the roads. Put pins on the side of the street the walkers will be on.
  • Go in daylight, and keep children with an adult.
  • Use a separate map if you share by public link. A public link shows every pin on a map, so make the walk in its own account with another email address if your main map is private.

When is a good time to do one?

A family reunion, the weekend of a milestone birthday, a holiday visit home, a first trip to the town your family came from, or the afternoon after a funeral, when everyone is together and wants something to do that is about the person.

Common questions

How do I make a family history scavenger hunt?

Choose five to eight family places within walking distance, write a short story for each, and lock each story to its location so it can only be read on the spot. In Here My Story you do this by adding a story at each place and switching on "Only readable at this place." Then share the map and let the children find each pin.

Do the children need their own accounts?

No. If you share the map by public link, anyone with the link can open it and unlock stories with no account. If you invite people by email, each invited adult signs in on their own phone and the children walk with them.

What is a good family history activity for grandchildren?

A story walk: a short route around a family neighborhood where each stop has a story that unlocks only when you get there. It gets children outdoors, and it gives the stories a place to stick.