Norwalk’s Stepping Stones Museum for Children will host its first Sustainable Living Expo on October 13 from 10am to 2pm, in partnership with Sustainne.com. The We Love Planet Earth-themed expo will feature a variety of interactive attractions led by exhibiting businesses. Learn from local experts that provide sustainable goods and services, including organic farms, food establishments, artists, designers and businesses solving our biggest waste problems. 

Visit more than 20 exhibitors and vendors to learn ways to live more sustainably, and shop from businesses that stand out in their efforts to be socially and environmentally responsible.

There’s No Such Thing as Trash: Transforming the Idea of Garbage is an interactive, digital media experience by LorenFlower that will take place in the museum’s Multimedia Gallery. It will illustrate to guests the hidden value of our trash. 

At the electric vehicle (EV) showcase, attendees will be able to meet EV drivers and learn about the benefits of electric vehicle ownership including Chevrolet Bolt EV and Volt plug-in hybrid electric cars from sponsor Karl Chevrolet of New Canaan. They will be parked in the bus loop at the entrance. 

Learn more about honey, home beekeeping and research in bee health from The Best Bees Company during an on-stage honey harvest demonstration. Take home pollinator-friendly flower seeds to make the yard part of the Pollinator Pathway individuals and organizations are building across Connecticut to ensure an abundant supply of nectar and habitat for our native pollinators. 

Kids will have the chance to learn about creative repurposing while they partake in a community build of scale models of the museum using recycled cardboard and 3D printed connectors led by 3Dux/design. Bring single-ply cardboard or use the supply provided by The Junkluggers. Head to the Celebration Courtyard to participate in the build.

Participate in a used textile recycling drive led by Bay State Textiles to prevent valuable materials from being thrown away and negatively impacting the environment. Start saving used
textiles to bring to the event to recycle on Bay State Textile’s truck, which will be stationed outside the Museum entrance. The textiles include clothing, footwear, accessories, linens, pocket books, belts, stuffed animals and pillows for the recycling drive.

Take a lunch or snack break in the museum’s Healthyville Cafe, where there is a local, fall menu with locally roasted, USDA-certified organic coffee from Shearwater Coffee Roasters. 

Admission is $15 per person or $10 per senior.

Sustainne.com is a local organization dedicated to uniting, nurturing and growing a community dedicated to sustainable living. Expo exhibitors are Sustainne business members, community partners, media partners, including Natural Awakenings, and sponsors, all of whom help to build sustainable communities.

At Stepping Stones Museum for Children, play is serious business. The museum is dedicated to early childhood education with plenty of hands-on exhibits. Children of all ages are encouraged to explore, invent, test and observe. 

For more information, visit Sustainne.com/Sustainable-Living-Expo-2018-Comes-to-Norwalk. Location: Stepping Stones Museum for Children, 303 West Ave, Norwalk. See ad, page 21.