Completed in 2003, the 1,476 square foot Science House serves as a public laboratory, classroom, and special event space for the Science Museum of Minnesota’s outdoor science park, The Big Backyard. It is a model energy building on permanent public display. It is a zero emissions building that generates all the energy it needs from its 8.8 kilowatt photovoltaic-integrated standing seam metal roof. The building’s heating, cooling, and hot water needs are supplied by a ground-source heat pump that uses the earth’s thermal energy to heat and cool the structure. A Mezzanine was added in 2007 to provide additional education space.