While visiting the Oak Park Conservatory with his children, Berwyn resident Mario Lucero discovered a connection to his Mexican heritage.
“I have been taking my two boys to the Oak Park Conservatory since they were babies. Now that they are 4 and 6, they experience and explore something new every year. We are proud of our Mexican heritage, and I love telling my boys stories about all the cacti in the Desert Room and how my family would grow them. In the Tropical Room, I show them how cacao looks, to appreciate chocolate and how it was originally a “drink of gods” for the Maya in Mesoamerican times.
The kids also love the waterworks in the Discovery Garden and the children’s explorer backpacks. They first used binoculars at the Conservatory and learned how to appreciate Mother Nature with curiosity and respect. The Oak Park Conservatory is an educational oasis, and I am grateful my family and I have access to it.”
We invite you to help expand our efforts to reach residents from surrounding communities with new opportunities and programs. Please help sustain The Friends and the historic Conservatory by donating to the Annual Appeal HERE.
