Exhibits Case Studies
Brooklyn Children's Museum145 Brooklyn Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11213
Contact:
Greta Pemberton gogreen@brooklynkids.org
718.735.4400 (p)
- ASTC Article, "A Children's Museum Goes Green" (pdf)
- Growing Up Green, (pdf) Sharon Klotz (Brooklyn Children’s Museum), Hand to Hand, volume 20, Spring 2006
Brooklyn Children’s Museum’s new building is LEED-certified recognized for its sustainable design. As part of the Green Threads project, the Museum has created five new exhibits to explain the Museum’s green features, with information about the process of using recycled materials to build exhibits, harnessing solar energy to power the Museum, installing efficient fixtures to conserve water, tapping into geothermal energy to heat and cool the Museum, and installing renewable bamboo floors.
Here are some previews of those exhibits; come visit the Museum to experience them for yourself.
Recycling
We are often told to recycle, but what happens to that plastic bottle after you place it in the blue bin? Come to our recycling exhibit to find the missing links in our recycling stories and discover unusual recycled exhibit pieces inside the Museum.
Where? - On the lower level across from the Grocery Store
Solar
Brooklyn Children’s Museum is covered with solar panels! What do they do? Shine light on a mini solar panel, and then see what happens when clouds, pollution, or nighttime falls.
Where? - On the upper level near the elephant skeleton
Geothermal
Water from far below the Museum provides a lot of the energy to heat and cool the building. Visit us to find out more about geothermal energy!
Where? - On the lower level near Fantasia
Water
Just how much water gets used by a toilet flush? Which uses more water – a shower or a bath? What about an open fire hydrant? Come to the water station and learn the facts and figures behind water use.
Where? - On the lower level near Fantasia
Bamboo
The flooring on the Museum’s upper level is made of bamboo boards instead of hardwood from trees. Why? Spin the zoetrope to see the bamboo grow before your very eyes and learn why we picked bamboo. Where? - On the upper level past the elephant skeleton
Visit www.bcmgreenthreads.org to learn more about the Green Threads Project, to identify green locations you can visit throughout New York City, and to find resources to teach sustainability in the classroom and home.
