Attendance is soaring at the DuPage County Historical Museum and museum officials expect the momentum to keep up through 2012.

The Wheaton museum saw 7,738 visitors in 2011, 72 percent more than the 4,495 who visited in 2010, according to its annual report released this month. Also, museum staff have already hosted more tours so far this year than it did in all of 2011, said Museum Curator Sara Arnas.

In 2011, the museum had 29 guided tours, while 60 are already scheduled until the end of April, Arnas said.

So what’s causing the spike in popularity? President of the museum’s fundraising group Tim Elliott said when the Wheaton Park District took museum operations over from the county in 2009, the museum got a much-needed “shot in the arm.”

“It’s got new staff, a new foundation board, new exhibits and new energy,” Elliott said.

Arnas and the current Museum Educator, Sara Buttita, have ramped up marketing efforts and trashed aging exhibits, Arnas said. Under their watch, the museum also is currently hosting two temporary exhibits drawing big numbers, “DuPage County and the Civil War: A Local Perspective” and “Girl Scouts Our Promise: Then, Now and Forever.”

The Girl Scouts exhibit,  which opened in November and celebrates the scouts’ 100^th anniversary, features old uniforms, photos and artifacts and has been especially popular among scout groups seeking tours, Arnas said. It will remain open until April 30.

Since admission to the museum is free, the facility relies largely on facility rentals, gift shop purchases, sponsorships and grants and donations for revenue.

With only two full-time staff members and a bevy of volunteers who assist with research and tours, the museum operated in 2011 with about $143,701 in expenses. It brought in $152,064 during the same year, according to the museum’s annual report.

To increase revenues, the museum is marketing its building, erected in 1891 by John Quincy Adams as a gift to Wheaton in memory of his late wife, as a place to host weddings and birthday parties.

“It’s a really unique space and I think that’s what attracts people,” Arnas said.

To keep visitors coming, two new temporary exhibits are expected this year, including a private collection of 17^th and 18^th century clothing and a holiday exhibit. A large exhibit on folk art and early American craft is on the schedule for 2013.

“To have something new is really what’s driving people in,” Arnas said.

The museum, 102 E. Wesley St., is open 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. during the week and noon to 4 p.m. on weekends.For more information on current and upcoming exhibits, visit www.dupagemuseum.org.