Why is the Science Museum of Virginia tearing up the parking lot in front of the Children's Museum of Richmond? - P. Riggan (me)
I'm not the only person that has wondered what is going on in front of the Children's Museum - that parking lot has been a mess for about a month.
The Science Museum owns the lot and is in the process of installing porous pavement to allow rain water to seep into the ground. The area of approximately 20 parking spots was removed and is being replaced with crushed gravel that will be flattened and sealed to allow the water to seep through. In a heavy downpour, the water would be pushed into stormwater drain, but the plan is to reduce the amount of water that leaves the property.
It is part of a $1.4 million Virginia Green project to help protect the Chesapeake Bay that includes 2.4 acres of museum property. It also includes a bio-retention pond and tree box filters to go along with the Bayscapes garden, which was planted two years ago.
"I think when people visit the Science Museum they expect us to be a leader in sustainability," said Richard Conti, Chief Wonder Officer for the Science Museum. He said the project will be an example for government, business, residential and individual developments to learn from the green building practices and see for themselves the economic benefits of going green.
I immediately decided that as my driveway decays, this might be the best route to replace it - pourus pavement to resupply the aquifer and filter the water.
The museum will also be collecting rainwater from the roof of the train shed. "Water reclamation, we'll take the water off the historic butterfly sheds that people used to wait under to catch a train so that it will channel that water into an above ground cistern and a solar-powered pump that pump the water back to our urban farm to irrigate our crops," Conti said.
The Science Museum is also preparing for the installation of an environmentally friendly green roof on the flat roof of the IMAX wing, with low profile plants to reduce runoff. The area will be on display for museum visitors to monitor and learn from, according to spokesperson Nancy Tait.
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