Festival Activities: Discovery Space, Schlow Library & PSU Center for Sustainability

The Light Step, Right Step Steering Committee has been very excited about the support we have recieved from various community groups to make the first year for this event successful! The following groups have supported the festival by hosting special events during this year's festival!

Discovery Space of Central PA

During the festival, there will be actvities for children and their families taking place in Sidney Friedman park.  In addition to these activities, Discovery Space will be open for half-price admission on Saturday, September 8!  The mission of Discovery Space is to "provide engaging science experiences which spark creativity, curiosity and imagination."  The space features exhibits for children and families covering a range of fun, scientific topics. 

Schlow Centre Region Library

Schlow Library will be the setting for the documentaries that will be shown on the day of the festival.  Throughout the day, the library will feature Dr. Richard Alley's Earth: The Operator's Manual documentary series as well as the film Carbon Nation.  In addition, a book display featuring sustainability-oriented books will be available, which will include work by local authors.

Penn State Morning Star Home and Eco-Machine

On the day of the festival, Penn State Center for Sustainability will be offering guided tours of their Morning Star Home and Eco-Machine™.  CATA's Blue Loop will provide free shuttle service to these exhibits, which are located on Porter Rd., for festival participants to experience. 

The MorningStar home is an 800-square foot zero-energy solar-powered home that was built by an interdisciplinary team of Penn State students and faculty for the 2007 Solar Decathlon. The home’s expanded hybrid renewable energy system now includes a solar hot water collector, 10 kW of solar photovoltaics, a 2.3 kW wind turbine, a charging station for electric vehicles, and geothermal heating and cooling. 

The Eco-Machine™ is a pilot-scale ecological wastewater treatment system dedicated to research of wastewater treatment technologies, bioremediation of pharmaceuticals and personal care products, and bioenergy production.  The system was designed to treat 1000 gallons of municipal wastewater per day with a smaller energy footprint than conventional wastewater treatment plants.  A diverse ecosystem of bacteria, algae, fungi, snails, plants, and other organisms use natural processes to break down and treat the waste.  A solar tracker helps provide power to the greenhouse, and byproducts harvested from the Eco-Machine™, such as algae, may be used for bioenergy production.  Ultimately, the Eco-Machine™ represents a future for sustainable, energy efficient wastewater treatment.