Environment & Energy

 

All of our projects are made possible by the partners who help us develop and deliver science throughout Virginia.  Please click the link below to learn more about our project partners.
 
NOAA

 GOING Green

The Science Museum of Virginia is working to become a leader in sustainability issues and to demonstrate various, proven techniques for protecting and enhancing the environment.  Our investments in building HVAC and lighting systems have paid for themselves and are generating a real operational savings.  We use green chemicals for the care and maintenance of the facility and have installed waterless urinals.  
 
A number of projects are taking shape in 2010 including a  green demonstration roof around our IMAX®DOME.  We will be measuring the insulative properties of the roof and communicating this to our guests. Other storm water mitigation projects currently under design include the installation of pervious pavement on our parking lot to allow rain water to seep into the ground, along with bio retention pond and tree pits. We are also installing a cistern and irrigation system that will allow us to use reclaimed water to irrigate our new Green Acre, urban farm, behind the museum.
 
The Green Acre includes a student maintained ‘pizza garden”, a vegetable plot for the use of our caterers, a demonstration plot by Virginia State University and a permaculture project by Tricycle Gardens.  We are also building a green house and will be exploring vermiculture, composting  and other sustainable agricultural practices.
  
Our Chesapeake BayScapes Garden is already blooming again right out in front of the Museum. We hope you will visit soon and watch our progress!

ShareThis Page

HTML Comment Box is loading comments...
Green Acre Green Acre is underway!
Last Spring, we announced the installation of our urban farm, Green Acre, behind the Science Museum of Virginia.  The project will allow guests of all ages to get their hands dirty, while learning the basics of sustainable farming which can offer green solutions to their everyday lives.  We’ve planted out first crop and are busily constructing the greenhouse to help us grow additional vegetables.  Our first crop contains tomatoes, basil and peppers and along with our gardeners from Richmond Public schools – we’ve named the first crop the “pizza garden.” 

Thank you to our generous sponsors:
The Richard Gwathmey and Caroline T. Gwathmey Memorial Trust
Wachovia Wells Fargo Financial Services
Southern States Cooperative, Inc.

Green Roof Green Roof and Stormwater Reclamation
We’re preparing for the installation of a green roof on the flat roof of the IMAX® wing this summer.  The green roof, consisting of low profile plants, will function to improve water quality and reduce the amount of runoff, both which improve water quality of the Chesapeake Bay.  Architects at Virginia Tech are in the final stages of completing drawings of nine other low impact stormwater runoff mitigation techniques that will be implemented at the museum.

Museum guests will have a wonderful view of this space and be able to observe real-time the amount of storm water that is reclaimed, as well as the insulative properties of the gestation by monitoring the roof temperature.
BayScapes BayScape
The Science Museum has joined forces with the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay to create a BayScapes Garden on the museum's front lawn. BayScaping is an environmentally sound method of landscaping which benefits people, wildlife and Chesapeake Bay.

Additional BayScapes Garden partners include the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries and ValleyCrest Landscape Maintenance. Philip Morris USA and the Chesapeake Bay Restoration Fund sponsored the project.
EcoLab EcoLab
Located on Level Two
Have you ever looked into the water and wondered what’s below the surface? Explore life underwater as the scientists do. Observe magnified samples of aquatic invertebrates. You’ll get your hands wet with your own water sample and you will separate invertebrates from leaf debris, and then use a microscope to identify them. After identification, you will be able to determine if they came from a forest stream or an urban one. Finally, you’ll be an ecologist in a virtual stream wearing hip waders, holding binoculars, nets and more. Once you’ve completed your expedition, you’ll be awarded your Junior Ecologist button.

EcoLab is generously funded by the U.S. Department of Energy.
New Energy Virginia NEW ENERGY VIRGINIA
Find out how Solar panels, a wind turbine and geothermal energy combine to power the building's lighting and heating systems. Plus, peddle a stationary bicycle and see how much energy you can generate.
New Energy Virginia is made possible by a grant from the Virginia Department of Mines Minerals and Energy and the U.S. Department of Energy.
Virginia Science SOLs: K.7–K10, 1.2, 1.6, 1.7, 2.3, 2.5, 2.8, 3.8, 3.9, 4.3, 4.4, 4.6–4.8, 5.3, 5.4, 6.2, 6.3, 6.8, 6.9, LS.6, PS.6, PS.9, PS.11, ES.9, ES.13, PH.5, PH.8, PH.10
Virginia Tech Solar House VIRGINIA TECH SOLAR HOUSE
Open for tours Tuesdays 11 a.m.–noon and Thursdays 1–2 p.m.
The award winning Virginia Tech Solar House was designed and built by engineering, architecture and urban studies students and faculty for the 2005 U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon. To find out more about the Solar House, download an information sheet. For groups of 10 or more contact the Sales and Information Office.Virginia Science SOLs: 1.6, 1.8, 3.11, 4.7, 4.8, 5.3, 6.2, 6.3, 6.9, LS.12, PS.6, PS.9, ES.7, PH.4, PH.8, PH.10, PH.14

"));