In response to today’s global climate change and various environmental issues, more and more institutions in the world are committed to implementing environmentally green practices to conserve natural resources and promote sustainability. Social education institutions in Taiwan, including museums there, share similar concerns and have also adopted a ‘green thinking’ response, and Dr. Chen was eager to see how these successful international museums tackle the associated challenges and learn from their expertise and experience. He was interested in the three museums’ policies, and even more interested in finding out the practical measures they have taken, and are continuing to take, to bring their policies to life.

The California Academy of Sciences arranged for Dr. Chen to have a tour of their back of house operations to show him how it enhances its energy efficiency. This building complex is one of the ‘greenest’ in the world. It has LEED platinum level certification. LEED, is an acronym for ‘Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design’, and it is a US green building certification program. The Exploratorium, and the Tech Museum of Innovation also provided Dr. Chen with an in-depth look at their operation, programs, and facilities.

In addition to observing and discussing how these major international museums address sustainability, Dr. Chen also explored possibilities for collaboration between them and National Science & Technology Museum or other Taiwanese museums and he will follow up by working to facilitate bilateral connections after his return to Taiwan.

After this very busy fruitful visit, Dr. and Mrs. Chen departed on July 21. They planned to visit Japan and then a number of European countries between late July and August.