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With the green museum movement beginning in Children's Museums, The Children's Discovery Museum in Normal, IL became the first LEED-certified Children's Museum on October 3, 2005, when it received a Silver certification. The Brooklyn Children's Museum became the first LEED-certified green museum in New York City in 2008, using rapidly-renewable and recycled features such as bamboo and recycled rubber flooring. The museum also uses photovoltaics to generate electricity. The Boston Children's Museum is also a good example of a green museum leader, after receiving a LEED Gold certification in 2007, as well as the Pittsburgh Children's Museum, who received a LEED Silver certification in 2004.

Science museums and zoos were quick to follow Children's Museumsin the green movement. One of the first science museums to adopt green initiatives was the ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Centerat the Leahy Center for Lake Champlain in Burlington Vermont, which was the first LEED certified building in Vermont. The Natural History Museum of Utah is another museum which has taken charge in the green museum movement. They are applying for a LEED Gold certification, and are expected to save over $22,000 in energy costs. At their Rio Tinto Center the museum will have such integrated design features as an educational energy trail to tell the whole story of energy, as well as a renewable energy system.

Zoos and Botanical Gardens have also beecome leaders in the Green Museum field. The Denver Zoo, Woodland Park Zoo, and Cincinnati Zoo all received Green Awards at the 2011 Association of Zoos and Aquariums Conference. The Phipps Conservatory & Botanical Gardens was given a LEED silver certification for its new Welcome Center, which "is designed to evoke the geometry of the historic glass houses behind it." It has 11,000 square feet of lobby, ticketing, gift shop, and cafe space with a 34 ft high glass dome that is insulated to control glare and heat. Architects partially built the structure into the terrain, with 14th feet of usable space below ground. It was determined that by doing this, Phipps would save 40-50% of annual energy costs compared with an entirely above ground structure, and demonstrated that sustainable design could be created in ways that were still sympathetic to historic settings. Phipps will also be opening the Center for Sustainable Landscapes, which will house a center for education, research, and administration. It is scheduled to open in the spring of 2012, and is planned to exceed the LEED platinum certification, and achieve the Living Building Challenge.

Art museums are now also joining the movement. The Grand Rapids Art Museum became the world's first LEED certified art museum complex in 2008 when it received LEED Gold certification, which such innovative features as a heat recovery ventilator, CO2 sensors, and on site grey water reuse.