By Maggie Roach
Madison Magazine
Special To Channel 3000

The Madison Children's Museum is the perfect place for kids who want to learn. The museum's magical world of dinosaurs, dream machines, shadow rooms and barnyards stretches the imagination, promotes growth and encourages hands-on interaction. But youngsters aren't the only ones who have something to learn from the MCM: the museum also leads the way nationally in promoting environmentally friendly exhibition spaces and museum design. Their website toolkit, greenexhibits.org, is teaching other museum designers how to go green for good.

Following 'First Feats'

It all started in 1999 with the creation of "First Feats: Celebrating the Early Years," the MCM's ongoing early-childhood exhibit that employs sustainable design methods. This award-winning learning gallery is composed entirely out of non-toxic and non-synthetic materials, making it completely safe for both kids and the environment.

"At the time we created the exhibit, sustainability was a revolutionary idea," says Brenda Baker, exhibits director at Madison Children's Museum.

Sustainable design features include the replacement of fluorescent lighting with full spectrum lighting, the use of organic wool and jute area rugs scattered over reclaimed Douglas fir floors and the installation of walls composed of straw and clay. Walls are covered with milk paint, which is made from -- you guessed it -- milk. That's good news for moms whose toddlers put everything and anything in their mouth.

Through these green practices, MCM promotes an important concept: as trusted educators for the community, museums shouldn't solely nurture children's minds, but should provide a nurturing physical environment as well.

Healthy Environments For Healthy Kids

In 2004, the MetLife Foundation and the Association of Children's Museums recognized the Madison Children's Museum as a model for successful sustainability practices, awarding the museum with the Promising Practice Replication Award. This allowed MCM to create the website greenexhibits.org, a guide for other museum professionals on how to construct their own green exhibition spaces.

The website was designed by museum professionals and based on eight years of environmental research. Its six sub-sections -- "begin," "rethink," "plan," "build," "connect," and "dream" -- inform and inspire users without overwhelming them. For users with questions on what terms like "certified wood" or "volatile organic compounds" are, there's a helpful glossary.

One of the most crucial aspects of the website is the "Green Design Checklist" which provides specific criteria for museums to follow in the designing, building and operating stages of an exhibit. The list urges buying locally produced goods, purchasing materials in bulk and designing exhibits for future reuse. All of these suggestions are tactics MCM employs -- from the kid-size cranes in their construction exhibit to the wooden benches in the museum lobby -- old objects are constantly being reused in new ways.

Those intrigued by the idea of going green can find links to additional articles and a directory of books on children's health, museum case studies and other aspects of sustainable design. Want to know how your daily actions affect the environment? Included among the many website links is myfootprint.org, which lets viewers take a quiz to calculate their own ecological impact.

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