Explore Technologies and Science Related Energy Eefficiency & Renewable Energy
As part of the Connecticut Energy Efficiency Fund’s educational and public outreach efforts, several interactive exhibits related to energy, energy efficiency and clean renewable energy sources are available to visitors throughout the state. These exhibits engage museum visitors, students and educators to explore the technologies and science related to the topics of energy conservation, efficiency, renewable energy and protecting our environment.
Partnering with key educational museums, science centers, technical high schools and municipalities across the state, these exhibits raise awareness in school-age children, educators and parents about the economic and environmental benefits of energy efficiency.
- Energize CT Center, North Haven - an interactive, professionally staffed facility that combines displays, educational tours, and a resource center to educate and empower the residents of Connecticut about energy.
- Connecticut Science Center, Hartford - make sure to visit their Energy City Gallery.
- The Discovery Museum, Bridgeport - their energy exhibit showcases the different sources of energy, including renewable and nonrenewable sources.
- Stepping Stones Museum for Children, Norwalk - learn about the science of energy.
- E-House - designed and built by students and faculty of the Connecticut Technical High School System, each E-House incorporates solar and energy-efficient technologies.
- Trash Museum, Hartford – an exhibit that explores the relationship between recycling and saving energy.
Call 877-WISE-USE (877-947-3873) for more information.
Connecticut Science Center, Hartford
The Energy City Gallery is a model sustainable community named “Greenslope” featuring energy-efficient technologies and renewable energy sources that power buildings, instead of fossil fuels. The family-friendly gallery on the 6th floor of the Connecticut Science Center contains exhibits on sustainability, product life cycles, efficient windows, passive solar design, energy-efficient appliances and lights, green building or LEED design, wind, solar photovoltaics, biomass and fossil fuels. The multi-media exhibits illustrate the relationship between carbon dioxide emissions and energy consumption, and the interactive exhibits emphasize to students, educators and families the importance of being smart about the energy we use.
The gallery is jointly sponsored by the Connecticut Energy Efficiency Fund and the Clean Energy Finance & Investment Authority. Visit www.ctsciencecenter.org for more information.
Call 877-WISE-USE (877-947-3873) for more information.
Museums for Children
The Discovery Museum, Bridgeport
The museum’s energy exhibit showcases the different sources of energy, including renewable and nonrenewable sources, and allows visitors to actively participate in the generation, transmission, distribution and conservation of energy.
Museum visitors can become energy smart by interacting with displays on four types of energy sources—fossil fuels, hydropower, solar panels and wind turbines. These sources then “generate” electricity and are transmitted through power lines to our homes, schools and businesses. Inside the energy exhibit’s home, visitors must choose to use efficient or inefficient appliances and see how the electric demand changes on the home’s meter. Visit www.discoverymuseum.org for more information.
Stepping Stones Museum for Children, Norwalk
The Energy Lab Gallery is an immersive solar, wind and water environment that sets the stage for children and museum visitors to learn about the science of energy—its sources, uses, and emerging alternatives.
Energy Wall - displays potential/kinetic energy, energy transformations and renewable/nonrenewable energy sources.
Water Lab – explores the water cycle and hydropower.
Wind Tunnel – allows visitors to feel the force of wind and manipulate wind turbine blades to find the most efficient configurations and invent new designs.
Solar Lab – illuminates how energy from the Sun helps plants grow, heats homes and powers cars.
Non Renewable Lab – features a trip below the surface of the earth to see where fossil fuels come from.
Traveling Conservation Quest mini-exhibit & tour
As part of the Connecticut Energy Efficiency Fund’s partnership with Stepping Stones, a mini, portable exhibit on energy efficiency and renewable energy sources was created to travel to approximately 40 schools, libraries and community centers across the state free-of-charge to municipalities, schools and organizations.
For more information on Stepping Stones and its energy exhibits, visit www.steppingstonesmuseum.org
The E-House & The Trash Museum
The E-House Initiative
Since 2006, the Connecticut Technical High School System has partnered with the Connecticut Energy Efficiency Fund and Clean Energy Finance & Investment Authority to provide training on energy-efficient and renewable energy technologies for the schools’ architectural, carpentry, electrical and plumbing faculty and students.
Designed and built by students and faculty, each E-House, a 16’ x 20’ structure, incorporates solar photovoltaic and solar thermals systems, weatherization and energy-efficient technologies and labs in its design. The E-House initiative gives students the opportunity to conduct hands-on field work and earn professional certifications in these various labs, preparing them for a “green” career after graduation.
For more information, visit the Connecticut Technical High School System’s E-House initiative webpage.
The Trash Museum, Hartford
The Energy-Recycling Connection is an exhibit that explores the relationship between recycling and saving energy. Funded by the Energy Efficiency Fund, the exhibit’s sections: Reduce, Re-think, Recycle, CTRecyl-o-meter and Recovery explore how recycling our waste saves natural resources, reduces the amount of energy needed to make new materials and helps our environment by reusing materials instead of throwing them away. Visit the Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority website for more information and to test out the online Recyl-o-meter.