Fundamentals of Interactive Journalism

The Brooklyn Children Museum held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday to unveil the newly renovated building, which doubled in size and features all new exhibits.  

While the museum boasts about it’s new exhibits, they are not what impressed me most.  After all, I am not in the 6 month-12 year age range that they are aimed it.  What did impress me, however, was the fact that the museum is New York City’s first “green” museum, certified by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program of the U.S. Green Building Council.

In a huge city like New York, I was surprised that this is only the first museum to have gone “green.”  But kudos to Brooklyn Children’s Museum for being the first, and for being an example to the children that walk through it’s doors on a daily basis.  The museum is planning special programs to educate visitors about its sustainable features so visitors can see first-hand just how it is environmentally-friendly.

The museum uses geothermal heating and cooling systems.  It uses carbon dioxide sensors which regulate the amount of carbon dioxide, a gas that increases in the air when more people are present in a room and exhaling.  When more carbon dioxide is present, the sensors signal the ventilation system to kick on.  When less people are in the room, the ventilation system will turn off, thus saving the museum in energy costs.  Who knew such technology existed?

The museum will also save energy with occupancy sensors that detect the presence of body heat or motion in a room.  These sensors will control the lights throughout the museum.  There is also a system used to convert solar energy into electrical power through photovoltaic panels. Since I’m not sure what exactly those are, you can read more about them here.  

The museum’s flooring is made from bamboo, chosen because it is a renewable resource and is the world’s fastest growing plant.  Other renewable resources used throughout the museum include cork, rubber, and linoleum flooring.  The museum made sure to consider sustainability when using finish materials, and chose materials that were either renewable or made from recycled content.

The museum will continue to take further steps to convert its cleaning and trash handling operations to “green.”  But it is good to see that they have taken the steps in the right direction to help the environment and set an example.  The Hearst Corporation in midtown was the first building in NYC to go green back in 2006, and since then many others have followed suit. Hopefully more will continue to learn by the examples that have been set and take the necessary measures to go “green.”