Educating the Public about Air Pollution and Plants: Experiences at the Air Quality Learning and Demonstration Center at Penn State University (2003-2019)

Abstract

The Air Quality Learning and Demonstration Center (the Learning Center) was located within the Arboretum at the Penn State University campus in University Park, PA (USA). It was in operation from 2003 to 2019 and was a unique outdoor educational facility used to heighten public awareness of the importance of clean air (with a primary emphasis on plants) and provide current information on air quality problems, issues, and integrative solutions. The Learning Center was designed to provide a hands-on experiential educational experience with garden demonstrations of sensitive plants, controlled air exposure of plants using open top chambers, an outdoor learning pavilion for lectures and discussions, and a Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PA DEP), Bureau of Air Quality (BAQ) Monitoring Station that provided real time air quality and meteorological data. Thousands of students and members of the public visited the Learning Center during the 17 years of its existence. In addition, several students completed graduate and undergraduate theses using the resources of this facility and numerous other students had extensive research and teaching experiences working at the Learning Center. During its life, the Learning Center experienced annual external funding fluctuations and the educational and research programming was adjusted accordingly. The Learning Center was closed in the Fall of 2019 when external funds were no longer available, and the facility was completely dismantled (except for the BAQ Monitoring Station) during the summer of 2020.