Child ID Program at Kaleidoscope

An annual kids’ expo in Marquette this weekend isn’t just a chance to have fun.

It’s also a chance for parents to take a few extra steps to keep their children safe.

Kaleidoscope is an educational fair for kids at the Superior Dome tomorrow.

The Michigan Child ID program is one of the services the fair hosts each year.

Michigan Masonic lodges sponsor the program.

Parents must be present to sign a permission slip, and the program involves recording a voice sample from the child, fingerprints, a digital photo and also a DNA sample collected from the child’s hair follicles.

The process takes 30 to 40 minutes, but U.P. regional program director Curt Hewitt says NMU volunteers will be helping out — student-athletes in the USOEC weightlifting program will be on computers to process the kids’ information.

Kaleidoscope is from noon until 4 tomorrow at the Dome.

Admission is $1, and that covers all of the activities at the fair.

Posted by: Mike Hoey