Kids go sticker crazy at new Wheaton exhibit

There were 80,000 stickers within 12-year-old Robert Lowman's grasp Saturday morning on a grassy field across the street from the Wheaton Public Library.

A 140-foot-long pointillism piece spelled out "What is Wheaton?" in stickers tagged with words like "artsy" and "sporty" and "mad."

But Robert had one word in mind when he began scanning the piece along with dozens of other kids. A single sticker marked with the word "unique" was somewhere in that mess. The kid who found it would win $250 in gift certificates and a savings bond.

"I just kind of wandered in the back" while the others were scrambling to peel off pieces of the front of the mural, Robert said. "It was just sitting there somewhere in the middle."

Robert had his winning sticker within 20 minutes of the unveiling.

The 8-foot-tall mural will be displayed for the next week near the corner of Wesley and Cross streets as part of the 150th anniversary celebration of Wheaton's founding.

People will be able to remove the stickers from the mural throughout the week. Some downtown stores are planning to offer special deals, like free items and discounts, if someone's sticker matches the words the stores are sponsoring.

"What you see right here is why we decided to support this," Wheaton City Councilman Liz Corry said, pointing to the dozens of kids scanning the oversized board in search of the winning piece. "It's a visible statement of our values."

Jody Maas, a Wheaton resident and friend of the creator of the piece, Jeffrey James, came with her daughter and friends as a sign of support.

"It's definitely a way for kids to get busy and moving," Maas said. "It's for them."