Staff Report
Published April 25, 2011

The Children’s Museum of the Upstate in downtown Greenville is the first museum in the state to receive LEED Silver Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. 

A plaque ceremony will be held on at 11 a.m. Wednesday on the front steps of TCMU to recognize local organizations responsible for the design, development and construction of the 80,000-square-foot building.

The museum opened in July 2009 in the former Greenville County Library building. In its first year TCMU served more than 123,000 people. 

LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a voluntary certification program that can be applied to any building type. It promotes an approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in many key areas: sustainable sites; water efficiency; energy and atmosphere; materials and resources; indoor environmental quality; locations and linkages; awareness and education; innovation in design; and regional priority.

South Carolina made the list of Top 10 states for LEED-certified green buildings released in March by the U.S. Green Building Council. No other Southeastern state made the cut.