The North Andover Historical Society is launching its new exhibit at the Stevens Center museum on the common; Harnessing the Power of the Sun. This exhibit has been produced thanks to the generous funding of the All Points North Foundation and will be going live on January 8th 2025. 

This exhibit is designed to educate everybody on how exactly the sun’s rays are turned into power so that we can charge or phones, power our homes and businesses. It explains how solar panels work, and how they can be used to create all the power we need in our homes and businesses, without the use of fossil fuels.  The exhibit incorporates a model of the Historical Society’s own 1715 Parson Barnard house as well as other interactive components including a mini scavenger hunt designed to help kids find the orange solar conduits that transform the sun’s rays into usable power at the Stevens Center .

This exhibit showcases the ongoing efforts made by the NAHS towards sustainable stewardship, including its’ anticipated third year of net zero certification at the Stevens Center in 2024, producing more energy than the society consumes. It’s designed to inform the local community on its  focus of “Preserving our Past, Protecting our Future”; which is also the new title of its exhibit wing. The new exhibits in this wing of the museum will encapsulate the historical significance of sustainable practices from Native American cultures, the history and lessons we’ve learned from colonial times and the ongoing journey towards environmental stewardship in North Andover and the Merrimack Valley. It will show visitors how they too can embrace sustainable stewardship in their daily lives.