Conservation Questsm comes to ECHO from Stepping Stones Children’s Museum, in Norwolk, Connecticut. The exhibit was developed to create a highly interactive, hands-on way for visitors to learn the power of making smart energy and conservation choices. Visitors are encouraged to explore ways to save with light bulbs, electricity and recycling. They are introduced to solar, wind and hydropower and can play with circuits to power up lights, radios and fans. Below is just a sampling of some of the many interactive you'll find in the exhibit here at ECHO, as you train to become an ENERGY SUPER HERO! Also, don't forget about all our programs and special events related to the Power Play Energy Themes!     How Do You Stack Up? Stack up blocks sized to represent the amount of electricity various appliances use and determines how much electricity your family uses each day. You can play again and again, changing simple things to try and use less electricity. Learn how much electricity families use, and find ways to use less.

Watt's the Use?

Turn on different electronics and use the attached watt meters to display their electricity use. You can also compare electricity use between different items that do the same thing – which uses less: clothes dryer versus a clothesline?
 

Bright Ideas

Turn a crank to compare the amount of energy required to light up an incandescent light bulb, a CFL and a LED. Learn about which is more efficient, the cost of using each bulb, how long they last, and disposal and conservation tips. This fun interactive lets you FEEL the difference in energy use between the three different light bulbs!
 

Sort The Waste Learn about where waste goes while sorting 2-dimensional items into their proper containers: Plastics, Glass, Paper, Metals, Garbage, Compost, Donations and Other. Learn how much waste the average person produces, or how we can generate electricity from trash.

Connect It!

Create a circuit to power up LED lights, fans and alarms. You'll explore wires and electrical devices, create a circuit, and understand what electricity is and where it comes from. Learn to identify the parts of a circuit, understand how electricity travels, and how to conserve electricity!
 

Clean Energy

Explore how water, wind and solar energy are used to generate electricity and turn on different electronics. Visitors learn specifics about wind turbines, hydropower dams and solar panels.
 

Map of the World

Visitors explore which countries use the most energy around the world, what sources we use and for what purposes using a map and graphs.