Plans for a new place where kids can learn about sustainability and conservation will go forward before 2012 arrives. After listening to presentations in early November the West Windsor Environmental Commission decided to make a recommendation to Town Council to hire Redmond-Jones & Associates as a special consultant to develop a concept design for the newly announced Environmental Education Exhibition at the Schenck Farmstead, 50 Southfield Road.
The recommendation was affirmed by Council at its December 19 business session and the amount of the initial contract is not to exceed $5,000, an amount that comes from a designated line item for the Environmental Commission in the 2011 operating budget. The initial contract would be valid only through December 31, however. According to Dan Dobromilsky, township landscape architect, a new contract would be drafted in January to retain Redmond-Jones’ services. The funding for Redmond-Jones’ next contract would come out of a $150,000 donation from developer Centex.
Based on telephone conversations with potential consultants, Dobromilsky brought up Redmond-Jones as a possibility at the November 10 meeting. Three consultants were brought in for interviews and shown the space at the Schenck Farm, and Redmond-Jones was ultimately decided on. At the Council agenda session on Monday, December 12, he explained the choice.
“She really understood the idea of making the exhibit interactive. It really impressed upon us that she has experience in serving the interests of a community and different age groups, and what people take away from an exhibit if they interact,” he said.
Dobromilsky also said that a focus would be making the new exhibit fit well with school sciences curriculum, allowing it to “serve as a tool for schools as well as the community as a whole.” Environmental Commission Chairman Michael Hornsby stated that the targeted age group of the new exhibition would be fourth-graders (around nine years old) and older children.
Beth Redmond-Jones is the sole proprietor of Redmond-Jones & Associates, which is based in Swarthmore, Pa. She is on the board of NAME, the National Association for Museum Exhibition, and has worked as a consultant at the National Aquarium in Baltimore and the Carnegie Museum of Natural History since 2008. She holds an M.A. in museum studies from John F. Kennedy University as well as a B.A. in art history from the University of New Hampshire.
Redmond-Jones & Associates has developed, designed, and managed exhibitions for museums, interpretive centers, zoos, and aquariums including the Exploratorium in San Francisco, the Alaska SeaLife Center, California Science Center, National Park Service, Bay Area Discovery Museum, Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Dobromilsky said that in 2000 the idea was originally brought up for a nature center in West Windsor. In 2003 the planning board was able to negotiate a $150,000 donation from Centex, the developer of the Elements at West Windsor. The donation was secured to contribute to the development of a nature center. Dobromilsy says that in the eight years that have passed there have been several GROWW fairs and environmental fairs and focused on sustainability efforts, such as applying for grants from Sustainable Jersey which have resulted in silver-level certification, With a renewed focus this year, the
Environmental Commission learned that a climate-controlled “small artifacts room” in the Schenck Farm measuring 14 by 32 feet was available. He told Council that the project would be a “win-win” as the township can use facilities that are already in place.
Councilmember George Borek and Mayor Hsueh brought up a few notes including the need to construct public restrooms at the Schenck farm. The mayor said that when renovation work takes place this spring construction for the bathrooms and any necessary sewer connections should be completed.
