LITTLE ROCK — Historic Arkansas Museum in Little Rock is reaching into the earth for its latest improvement.
The museum will turn off its old heating and cooling units Tuesday at three of its five historic structures and turn on a new geothermal heating and cooling system.
The system uses heat from the earth to warm the buildings in winter and to cool them during summer.
The museum’s oldest building — the Hinderliter Grog Shop — is approaching 200-years-old. Organizers say maintaining a consistent temperature is critical to maintaining the structures and the period furnishings inside them.
The museum says the system will ultimately cut energy costs and that patrons won’t have to see and hear air conditioning condenser units, which detract from the historic ambiance of the grounds.