Grant Will Support Energy Conservation Efforts
Sarah Hesshaus, Marketing & Communications Manager
email: shesshaus@ecotarium.org, phone: 508.929.2738
Worcester, Mass. - The EcoTarium, A Museum of Science and Nature, has been awarded a Capital Grant in the amount of $51,917 from the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC) Cultural Facilities Fund. It was one of only two Central Massachusetts institutions to receive Capital Grants in a special round of newly released funding totaling $2 million. The grant will provide support for upgrading the EcoTarium's power plant to reduce energy consumption and operating costs.
The EcoTarium is one of only a few institutions in the city that provides its own electricity through a co- generation power plant; the system is 87% energy efficient. In addition, a 20% reduction in fuel consumption was achieved through manual energy conservation policies and a state-of-the-art web- based software system that optimizes cooling and heating the 60,000-square-foot building. The grant from the MCC Cultural Facilities Fund will support the installation of additional controls and metering, allowing the museum to reduce energy consumption by another 5 to 10 %.
"The EcoTarium is continually working towards improving our energy conservation," says EcoTarium President Stephen Pitcher. "We are thrilled that the MCC Cultural Facilities Fund has supported our efforts."
The grant award was celebrated at a ceremony at the State House on June 25, 2008, where the EcoTarium received a check in the presence of several state officials including: Anita Walker, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Cultural Coalition; Robert Culver, President & CEO of MassDevelopment; Senator Harriette Chandler of Worcester; Senator Benjamin Downing of Pittsfield; and Representative Eric Turkington of Falmouth, House Chair of the Joint Committee on Tourism, Arts, and Cultural Development.
The Massachusetts Cultural Facilities Fund was created as part of a major economic stimulus bill that was approved by the Massachusetts Legislature in July 2006. The goal of the Cultural Facilities Fund is to increase investments from both the public sector and the private sector to support the sound planning and development of cultural facilities in Massachusetts.
EcoTarium, A Museum of Science & Nature, is a unique indoor-outdoor museum offering three floors of interactive exhibits, wildlife habitats, interpretive nature trails, a digital planetarium, and a narrow- gauge railroad. The EcoTarium, located at 222 Harrington Way in Worcester, Mass., is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sundays 12 to 5 p.m. Admission is $10 for adults and $8 for seniors, college students and children ages 3-18. Parking is free. For information, visit www.ecotarium.org.