Sustainability at A²

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Keeping our visitors healthy is extremely important to us here at Amazement Square. Amid the global pandemic, we have implemented highly effective measures to keep the museum germ-free. Every night we disinfect all four floors of the museum, including exhibits, tunnels, and slides. We also provide hand-sanitizing stations around the museum for visitors to use regularly. We also implemented an air ionization system that cleans the air in the museum and is 99% effective at reducing the transmission of allergens, bacteria, mold, and the COVID-19 virus.

The Amazing Mile Children's Run is an annual event put on by the museum that encourages exercise and aims to show the benefits of being active! This event also provides education on nutrition, hydration, strength and stretching.

On your next visit to the museum, make sure to take extra time to explore The Centra Gallery: League of Healthy Heroes exhibition! Join Scorpy Bug and his League of Healthy Heroes as they work to restore balance to healthy lifestyle choices.

A big part of Good Health and Well-being is protecting green spaces and ensuring that children will always have a vibrant environment to play and learn. That is why we have installed both a pollinator garden and educational garden. Make sure to take a moment to walk around the museum and appreciate both of these wonderful green spaces.

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Amazement Square strives to promote quality education in all aspects of our daily operations in order to inspire a lifelong love of learning. Requiring analytical thinking and an active imagination, the museum’s ten multidisciplinary exhibition galleries, in-house and outreach programs, and over twenty school programs incorporating the Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) curriculum are designed to meet the formal educational needs of teachers and students, as well as the general public.

Amazement Square addresses learning gaps in our community by helping children and adults of all backgrounds and abilities to see themselves as “learners” through hands-on, interactive experiences. A visit to Amazement Square provides exposure to hands-on learning in creative, multi-disciplinary galleries and classroom environments and provides an opportunity for parent and child bonding. Additionally, learning in an interactive museum environment is fun, engaging, and accessible, distinguishing it from formal classroom experiences and helping visitors to develop an identity as a learner.

Both the pollinator and educational garden act as a "living laboratory" for those to learn about gardening and the benefits of urban green spaces. With the installation of these gardens we aim to expand educational opportunities in order to spark curiosity about our local food system and pollinators!

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In 2001, Amazement Square opened to the public and since then has served over 85,000 visitors per year. The establishment of a new museum in downtown Lynchburg became the impetus for the city’s revitalization plans and an investment of more than $179 million in public and private funds in developing the historic riverfront.

In June 2022 Amazement Square became a Virginia Green Tourism partner. Through our commitment to waste reduction, conserving water and energy and consumer engagement we promote sustainable tourism as well as economic growth. Amazement Square understands the important role museums play in the revitalization of cities and seek to continue this objective in Lynchburg!

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Amazement Square strongly believes in building a sustainable community that inspires life long stewards of nature. We continually strive to lessen our ecological foot print through efficient practices and expanding environmental educational opportunities. Some of the steps we have taken includes installing a pollinator and educational garden, reducing our waste by upcycling material into exhibits and harvesting our storm water for irrigation

This summer we have conducted two successful sustainability workshops, "Build a Bee Hotel" and "Growing in the Garden". The "Build a Bee hotel" workshop taught the importance of local pollinators and provided the opportunity to build crucial habitats for native bees. The "Growing in the Garden" workshop taught participants about the life cycle of plants and essential gardening skills. These workshops are offered annually to cultivate a life-long environmental stewardship.

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Amazement Square strongly aligns itself with the goal of responsible consumption and production. The museum has consistently worked to divert its own waste through recycling and repurposing it for building material in our makerspace or for new exhibits. We work to reduce energy consumption through heat control window film and an HVAC economizer. Amazement Square also harvests its own rainwater to irrigate the educational and pollinator garden.

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Since its establishment in 2001, Amazement Square has partnered with early learning centers to support under-served populations within our community. In March of 2020, as school closures were announced, Amazement Square re-imagined its outreach programming to develop and produce virtual programming options for partner centers; Bright Hope Lynchburg, Caterpillar Clubhouse, Altavista Family YMCA, and Jubilee Family Development Center. Amazement Square also partnered with Framatome’s U.S. Women in Nuclear chapter to provide free STEM activity kits to center children in December 2020.

In partnership with Lynchburg City Schools, Amazement Square has had a 15-year history in providing programming to support the 21st Century Community Learning Center initiative, including projects that promote STEAM subjects to elementary and middle school students.