Visitors can now learn about energy use and efficiency by exploring the new Green Revolution Hybrid House exhibit at the SEE Science Center. We have all heard how hybrid cars are more energy efficient and have smaller carbon footprints. Our homes can be green too.

The Hybrid House is a community built exhibit. It was funded in part by a grant from PSNH and the NH Center for Non-Profits. Exhibit construction was completed by a broad partnership including PSNH employee volunteers, the Manchester Community College, UNH Cooperative Extension and the SEE Science Center. A significant portion of the materials for the project were donated by Coastal Forest Products and Bedford Fields.

The Hybrid House showcases good, better and best construction scenarios and features six different home efficiency topics. Visitors can compare and learn about light bulb choices in their homes, see how landscaping can help make their house more energy efficient, try a hands-on activities about air sealing, and more. Visitors of all ages can make connections between the things they do and use every day and the impact it may have on the environment.

Click on images to enlarge and start slide show.

The Hybrid House is one component of the “Green Revolution” an exhibition originally created by the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago, and made available by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES). The typical recipe for traveling a museum exhibition is to pack objects into crates, load them onto trucks, and then have those trucks travel the highways to museums across the country. “Green Revolution,” however, is an innovative museum exhibit where participating venues receive all of the necessary design files and instructions digitally, allowing them to construct their very own home grown “eco-zibit” from re-used, recycled materials found within their local community.

SITES has been sharing the wealth of Smithsonian collections and research programs with millions of people outside Washington, D.C. for more nearly 60 years. Exhibition descriptions and tour schedules are available at www.sites.si.edu.