Energy Efficiency -- Sustainable Technologies – Renewable Energy.

How does one present these topics to a broad audience, comprised mostly of impressionable young minds, in such a way that makes the experience interactive and lasting?

Opened in June, 2009, the Connecticut Science Center’s Energy City gallery, showcasing exhibits focused entirely on sustainable energy use, is the first of its kind. The Science Center was designed as an educational destination with the goal of engaging young people and families in science through an innovative and hands-on environment. Energy City is one of 10 galleries in the Science Center and it focuses on energy efficiency, renewable energy and climate change. Energy City has multiple interactive exhibits designed to educate visitors on the impact that day-to-day energy use has on climate change, and how renewable energy and energy conservation can reduce anthropogenic emissions. The gallery is set up to allow visitors to explore how energy is used throughout a city. 

                                                                                                                          Credit: CTScienceCenter

Energy City’s Featured Technologies

Part of what has contributed to the success of Energy City is that early in the planning process, the Science Center convened multiple stakeholders to help develop the gallery. The Connecticut Clean Energy Fund and the Connecticut Energy Efficiency Fund each allocated $1 million and substantial staff resources to ensure Energy City exhibits were scientifically and technically accurate, and would be understood and enjoyed by a diverse audience. As the exhibits were being developed, the team realized that they also needed to bring in outside technical experts.

Through a TAP request, the Science Center team accessed a variety of experts at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to review the gallery’s content, ensuring that it was technically accurate. The Science Center also hired a local teacher who participated in the Department of Energy’s ACTS Program; which is designed to provide K-12 teachers with hands-on experience in one of DOE’s national labs. The teacher helped develop content for the gallery, using the knowledge gained from their experience in the ACTS program.

The main success of Energy City is that it accurately demonstrates how energy efficiency and renewable energy projects can be implemented in home and community-wide projects. The take-away message to visitors is that clean energy technology is not something futuristic, but it’s technically and economically feasible today, and learning about it can be fun!

Are you involved in the development or implementation stages of energy education initiatives in your community? Please share your thoughts, questions, and experiences with us!

Content for this Blog post courtesy of Sarah Busche, National Renewable Energy Laboratory