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Approve Receipt and Donation of Eight Air Quality Exhibits to a Non-Profit Educational Group

SYNOPSIS: 

Eight exhibits were given to the AQMD at no cost by The California Science Center for display in the AQMD’s Clean Air Solutions Center. These exhibits now need to be relocated and it is recommended that they be donated to the Lewis Center for Educational Research, a non-profit educational association. This action is to authorize: (a) the addition of the exhibits to the fixed asset inventory of the AQMD, and (b) the donation of the exhibits to the Lewis Center for Educational Research.

COMMITTEE: 

Administrative, February 11, 2000, Recommended for Approval

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Receive the items on the attached list and authorize their donation to The Lewis Center for Educational Research, a non-profit educational group.

Barry R. Wallerstein, D.Env.
Executive Officer

Background

Since 1992, the AQMD has partially funded a five-part air quality display titled, "Our Urban Environment," which has been located at The California Science Center. One component of this display, consisting of eight exhibits, was donated to the AQMD’s Clean Air Solutions Center and refurbished at a cost of $20,000. Seven of those exhibits are currently in operating condition. One of the exhibits will require additional extensive rebuilding to make it operational.

The AQMD is seeking to lease the space now occupied by the Clean Air Solutions Center and these exhibits would need to be relocated. The potential availability of the exhibits was announced to the AQMD Museum Committee and three responses offering temporary display were received. Because the exhibits were not designed as movable displays, and due to the cost associated with transporting the exhibits, staff has worked to secure a new long-term location for the exhibits among non-profit educational facilities. The Lewis Center for Educational Research in Apple Valley, California, has expressed interest in receiving all of the exhibits for display. After a period of 18 months, staff will again canvas in-Basin, non-profit educational facilities to determine if it is feasible to relocate the exhibits to a permanent home within the AQMD’s jurisdiction. If no such location is found, the donation of the exhibits to the Lewis Center for Educational Research will become permanent.

The AQMD will pay to dismantle, deliver, and set-up the exhibits at their new location, at an approximate cost not to exceed $11,000. The initial cost to design and build the original five-part "Our Urban Environment" display is estimated at $2 million by The California Science Center. These eight exhibits comprise half of the one part of the exhibit known as the "Air Quality" component. The exhibits have been used by thousands of children since they were built. The value of the eight exhibits (one half of one component) is estimated at $200,000.

Resource Impacts

Staff estimates the resource impacts to be $11,000 to dismantle, transport, deliver and set-up the exhibits at The Lewis Center for Educational Research. Funds are available in the current budget under Public Affairs Business Outreach Account #67450(2) to pay the expense. If a subsequent in-Basin home for the exhibits is found, the cost of transporting the exhibits at that time would need to be determined and budgeted.

Attachment

List and Description of Exhibits

ATTACHMENT

Exhibit #1: Power’s On

• Pull up a handle to select an energy source.
• The dials give readings pertaining to the emissions, environmental degradation, cost per kilowatt, supply & potential use of the source.
• Meanwhile, background information is also visually displayed as each source is chosen.

Exhibit #2: Every Breath You Take

• Step into the exhibit and in front of the "x-ray" machine.
• Audio and video images convey impact of smog on lungs.

Exhibit #3: Under Pressure

• A movable panel represents the temperature inversion layer that traps pollutants in the Los Angeles Air Basin.
• When the panel is pulled down to stimulate the inversion layer, lights around the affected cities that are displayed below will light up.

Exhibit #4: Smoggy Days in the U.S.A.

• Match a city with a clue by pressing the two corresponding buttons at the same time.
• A correct match will show on the map the average number of days per year that city exceeds air quality standards.

Exhibit #5: Something’s in the Air

• Choose an answer to each question displayed on the different screens by pressing one of the six buttons found below the monitors (PM10, CO, NOx, O3, SOx, ROCs)
• When the correct answer is chosen, an animated display of information reveals where in the environment the compound comes from and how it affects our bodies.

Exhibit #6: Air Pollution

• The exhibit displays a wide variety of everyday products that affect levels of air pollution as well as information on the four main types of pollution: industrial, residential, commercial, and transportation.
• On the monitor, using the track ball, search through an urban area to select different sources of pollution and receive both audio and visual information on them

Exhibit #7: Smog Alerts - Not Working

Exhibit #8: Particulate Matter

• Shows three different air filters that have been exposed for 24-hour periods in the Los Angeles area.
• Lift a panel to guess which PM10 range matches each dirty filter; a correct guess will show the corresponding visibility level.

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