Who Do You Think You Are LIVE: Bigger Than A Football Field
Photo Detective Maureen Taylor examined hundreds of photos at Who Do You Think You Are LIVE
Imagine a genealogy exhibit hall just a bit larger than a football field and you have some idea of main floor at Olympia National for Who Do You Think You Are LIVE. Add two-thirds again and you have the gallery space used for more show exhibits and activity.
View from the gallery looking down on the main hall
The main entrance dropped me into the center of the hall — right? left? or straight ahead? I decided to start and one end and work my way around the room. One time around for an overview, and back again for serious investigation. Right away I noticed the many book and magazine stalls — I counted five family history magazines and at least three major book publishers. I also noticed many many stands offering “expert” consultations for all kinds of research.
Ancestors Magazine, taking orders for new digital magazine
Helen Osborn, co-founder of Pharos Tutors and author of new book Genealogy:Essential Research Methods
Oxford genealogy help from local experts
Wiltshire Genealogy
As I wandered the hall, I tried to snap representative photos of the kinds of products and services on offer. I couldn’t help but notice the large seating areas throughout the hall where vendors and speakers maintained a steady schedule of presentations on everything from software training to research techniques.
Look just below the large photographs at the FindMyPast stand and
you’ll see people seated for the ongoing talks at this booth.
It was usually standing-room-only for these lively presentations.
The upstairs gallery was actually a wide exhibit area, and was used for lectures and photograph exhibits along with consultation areas for the photo and heirloom experts.
Maureen Taylor, The Photo Detective, at the photo expert tables.
Eric Knowles, Heirloom Detective
The gallery also held large conference rooms where some of the presentations were scheduled. I didn’t manage to get a reserved ticket for the Richard III talk by Dr. Turi King, but I was able to stand at the back of the room for the entire talk. It’s clear why this recent discovery has captured worldwide attention — it’s a fascinating story. Stay tuned for my full report and photos.
This report is part of a series of posts about Who Do You Think You Are LIVE in London. You might also enjoy:
Meeting the Metropolitan Police at Who Do You Think You Are LIVE
Agreed, Janet. I loved seeing all the "new to me" products and services. And the number of society booths staffed with local researchers was fabulous. It's as though they brought the research materials to the conference so people didn't have to go there themselves. Very different model from our events in the U.S.
Great posts. It is nice to see all the fun you were having. I have two observations. 1) Isn't it interesting in this internet age how much things don't cross over the pond? I was again amazed at how many resources there were which I had never seen. You would think in this internet age that we would be better connected.
and 2) doesn't it just make you want to scream to our genealogy community here "spend more money!" LOL. Those beautiful booths and the great resources available there are because it is commercially viable to do such things. Ancestry builds their booths there with wall board and paint every year. They could never pull a profit here if they did the same. We need a stronger, healthier market here so that we can have all these great resources too. IMHO