Students will launch the Timelines and Tales project by engaging with real family stories, learning how to conduct respectful oral history interviews, and developing empathy for elders as primary sources. Through storytelling, artifact sharing, and interview planning, students will begin gathering user insights that will inform their personal history portfolios and the collaborative mural.

Students will synthesize insights from family interviews and early research to clearly define user needs and craft an actionable design challenge that will guide the creation of their timeline, family tree, and mural contributions.

Students will generate, expand, and refine diverse design ideas for their Personal History Portfolios and the Timelines and Tales Interactive Mural, using empathy insights from family interviews to propose user-centered features that connect personal stories to larger historical events.

Students will build and refine testable prototypes of their Personal History Portfolio and their section of the Timelines and Tales Interactive Mural, using peer and family feedback to improve clarity, historical accuracy, visual design, and user experience before the final exhibition phase.

Students will test their mural prototypes and personal history portfolios with real users, gather and apply feedback, finalize their work for public exhibition, and present at the Family Heritage Exhibition and Timelines and Tales Showcase.