The New Jersey Meadowlands Commission (NJMC) cut the ribbon on its new Center for Environmental and Scientific Education on March 26. After just over a year of construction, the new $6.5 million center features classrooms, labs and the William D. McDowell Observatory which houses one of the most powerful telescopes in the area.

The 10,000 square-foot center is expected to get about 40,000 students and visitors each year. The morning of the dedication students from South Hackensack got to use the newly christened center, learning about water salinity in one of the center's laboratories and looking at pieces of recovered meteorites on loan from NASA.

A host of local officials were at the event, including NJMC commissioners, mayors of several towns, Dennis McNerney, Bergen County's executive officer, and others. The family of William McDowell, the NJMC's first executive director who passed away in 2007, was also present for the ceremony.

Karen Doherty, McDowell's daughter, spoke about her father at the ribbon cutting.

"For many the meadowlands was just a place to dump their garbage," she said. She described growing up following her father's efforts to clean up the meadowlands. "As a kid we always asked how his meadowlands were doing. We called them his meadowlands." She said that before he passed away, he was at the Hackensack Hospital in a room with a window looking down on the meadows. She thought the telescope was a fitting tribute to his memory.

"He looked down on his meadowlands and now his meadowlands are looking up at him," she said.

NJMC Commissioner Joseph Doria described the center as another step in the NJMC's increasingly environmentally-conscious outlook.

"As the years have gone by the commission has become more and more environmentally sensitive," he said. "This is a unique building because of the example it sets… In every way this is a green building."

The building was built to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) specifications and is expected to achieve either a gold or a platinum rating from the United States Green Building Council. The building has tall ceilings and large spacious windows to maximize natural lighting and decrease energy costs as well as water-saving technology, solar panels on the roof and energy-efficient heating and air-conditioning systems. In the building's main hallway there are computer touch screens designed to demonstrate the energy and environmental savings the building achieves.

"We tie all the monitoring systems into this system and convert it into educational information," said Andrew Topinka, chairman of the New Jersey Chapter of the Green Building Council. The green design also creates a healthier environment for the building's own occupants, said Topinka, by creating better air quality than in a typical structure.

The observatory has two full-time astronomers on site, Dr. Richard Russo and Dr. John Sloane, both of Ramapo College. The observatory's telescope is a research-grade instrument with a 20-inch mirror and additional research tools. Sloane said the telescope will sport a photometer, a device that allows astronomers to measure the brightness of stars, and a spectroscope, a device that analyzes the wavelengths of light to determine the chemical composition of the light-emitting object.

"This isn't your average backyard telescope," said Sloane. "Students will be able to use the spectroscope to determine the chemical composition of stars, even determine the rotational speed of Saturn's rings." The telescope even has filters designed to help remove the effects of nearby light pollution. The telescope is operable by remote control as well, allowing students to adjust its position from the building's classroom.

Night viewings for the public aren’t yet scheduled and probably won’t begin until May because further time is needed to properly align the telescope, according to public information officer Sheri Hensley.