3 Bartlett families honored for visiting 61 museums

Three Bartlett families were recognized Tuesday for visiting more than 50 museums this summer as part of the Kane-DuPage Regional Museum Association's Passport to Adventure program.

The 20-year-old program, which spans from Memorial Day until Labor Day each year, encourages children ages 4 to 12 and their families to visit a variety of museums, nature centers and historical sites in the Western suburbs.

Participants pick up a free “passport” booklet containing information for 61 sites at the beginning of the summer from their local library or museum and receive a stamp for each place they visit. Some set a goal of going to five places to receive a certificate, and others try to reach seven, which gets them a prize.

But the Yu, Geshkewich and Conwell families of Bartlett earned a cake reception, prizes and a mayor's medallion at a village board meeting this week for filling their entire passports with stamps this summer.

“It's a great program for families because the program itself is free,” said Pam Rohleder, director of the village of Bartlett museums. “Parents are surprised to find out how many of these museums and nature centers are in their backyards.”

The Yu family was awarded the mayor's medallions once before, in 2009. In the past three years the Yus, who have five children, have made more than 170 visits to local museums and nature centers.