Oct 5 2010
The Bell Museum slated to open on 16th October will demonstrate a new display named "Sustainable Shelter," depicting novel technologies in building homes and various ways to save money spent on energy. The exhibition that will remain open till May next year has arranged for a meeting with the university researchers to answer the questions related to the shelter.
According to Don Luce, the Curator of Bell Museum, the ICON Solar House of the University will be repositioned from the museum to attract more visitors. The ICON house constructed by the university students last year fully utilizes solar power for all its functions and is a standing proof for a fully sustainable house. The museum also has arranged for guided tours of the solar powered house. The exhibition has received funding from the Department of Energy and from a number of business houses. According to Luce the exhibition will also include a seven foot reproduction of a termite colony to show how the colonies maintain steady heat and moisture inside the colony without any energy usage. He said, that a number of scientists and architects have researched the construction of the termite mounds to devise a technology for human adaptation.
The exhibition will also feature a lecture from the globally known eco-city specialist Joachim Eble, on constructing green cities. According to Eble a number of eco cities are found across Asia and Europe which are actually zero carbon colonies. The University is preparing to construct an eco city at UMore Park, a place sited in Dakota County. According to the planners the eco city will have around 30,000 residents in a period of 25 to 30 years.