Green Clues & AI Views:
A Hands-On Sustainability Scavenger Hunt

Atrium Bridges

Prompt to learn more

I’m a 7th-grader on a school field trip. The Seattle Convention Center’s Summit building re-used old timber to make the railings on its atrium bridges. Explain how using reclaimed wood helps the planet and earns LEED-Platinum points. Give me two fun facts I can tell my class and one follow-up question I could ask our guide.

Hybrid radiant-floor heating & cooling

Prompt to learn more

Hi! I just walked over a lobby floor that secretly pumps warm (or cool) water through pipes instead of blowing air. How does radiant-floor heating and cooling save energy compared with regular vents, and why does that matter for LEED-Platinum certification? Include a quick real-life analogy and one question I can ask my friends to spark debate.

Loading-dock spiral — rain-water cistern

Prompt to learn more

Our tour guide showed us a giant tank that stores rainwater under the Seattle Convention Center. Explain—in middle-school language—how collecting rainwater for toilets and plants reduces a building’s environmental footprint and earns water-efficiency credits in LEED. Add a simple math challenge: estimate how many hand-washing sessions 220,000 gallons could cover.

Garden Terrace – Rooftop Pollinator Park

Prompt to learn more

I’m standing in a rooftop garden filled with native plants and bees. How does a green roof cut down the “heat-island” effect in cities, help pollinators, and score LEED points? List two species that might live here and suggest one small garden idea my school could copy.

Sky Ballroom – Suspended Wormwood Ceiling

Prompt to learn more

Above me hangs a ceiling made from “wormwood” boards pulled from old log booms. Explain why giving driftwood a second life is good for carbon reduction and materials credits in LEED-Platinum buildings. Share one historical nugget about log-boom wood and ask me a question that links past logging practices to today’s sustainability efforts.