ECHO, Leahy Center for Lake Champlain facts for kids
ECHO, Leahy Center for Lake Champlain
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| Established | 2003 |
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| Location | 1 College Street Burlington, Vermont |
| Type | Science Center |
| Visitors | 170,000 |
ECHO, Leahy Center for Lake Champlain is a fun science and nature museum. It used to be called the Lake Champlain Basin Science Center. You can find it right on the waterfront in Burlington, Vermont. This museum is all about Lake Champlain and its amazing environment.
ECHO is a hands-on museum, which means you get to explore and learn by doing. It has many interactive exhibits, like "Engineer It!" and "Awesome Forces." You can also see a huge 30-foot, 3D model of Champ, the legendary lake monster of Lake Champlain! The museum is home to over 70 different kinds of fish, amphibians, invertebrates, and reptiles. They also have special traveling exhibits and an exciting 3D Theater.
Discovering ECHO
ECHO opened its doors to the public in 2003. Since then, it has offered daily animal encounters and hands-on activities. These activities are both educational and great for families.
The Leahy Center Campus
The full name of the museum is the Patrick and Marcelle Leahy Center for Lake Champlain. This name honors Senator Patrick Leahy for his strong dedication to protecting Lake Champlain. The campus covers about 2.2 acres (about 8,900 square meters).
The Leahy Center is also home to other important groups. These include the University of Vermont’s Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources. You can also find the Lake Champlain Basin Program Resource Room and the Lake Champlain Navy Memorial here.
A Green Building
ECHO's building is very special because it was Vermont’s first LEED certified Green Building. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. This certification means the building was designed and built to be very environmentally friendly.
Eco-Friendly Design
ECHO is the only lake aquarium in the United States with this special certification. When it received this award, it was only the third certified building in New England. It was also one of fewer than 70 LEED certified buildings in the entire United States.
In 2018, the largest solar canopy in Vermont was built right at the museum. This canopy helps capture clean, renewable energy from the sun. The name ECHO originally stood for educating and delighting people of all ages about the Ecology, Culture, History, and Opportunities for stewardship of the Lake Champlain Basin. "Stewardship" means taking good care of something, like the lake!
