FARMINGTON - Private homes became apartment and office buildings over the years. Now the property at High and Lincoln streets hosts a new Education Center at the University of Maine at Farmington.

The center noted for its "green" construction design will be open to the public for tours after a ribbon-cutting ceremony led by UMF President Theodora Kalikow at 3 p.m. Saturday, March 31, in the building's lobby. Presentations on its "green" features will be given by the building's architect and contractor. The event is free and the public is welcome.

"Students and faculty are excited about the new classroom space and lighting," said Kathy Yardley, dean of the College of Education, Health and Rehabilitation at UMF. "The students have also commented on the study space available, both the larger areas and individual smaller rooms. The colors, design and lighting of the building," she said, "has a feeling of good energy."

On Tuesday, she said, 94 school children visited the center to study the green aspects. The Education Center will also serve as a showcase and a teaching tool for those interested in energy-efficient building systems.

Designed to be more energy and cost effective, the center is situated so that the rooms tend to be lighter. People in the building are tending to not turn on as many lights, she said.

The building length is on an east-west path that helps provide natural light as the sun comes around the building during the day, said Leo Deon, assistant director of facilities. The third floor ceilings are pitched to take advantage of the available daylight and reflect it back into the room to use as much natural light as possible, he said. The rooms are also equipped so that when there is activity in the room, the lights go on and they shut off when people leave.

Preliminary findings since January that compare the building to the similar-sized Roberts Learning Center on campus show a 30 percent savings a month with the geo-thermal system used by the center compared to the conventional boiler system of the Learning Center, he said. Approximately 42 wells that are 357 feet deep provide the heating and cooling system for the building by using the internal temperature of the earth to heat and cool water within piping loops, he said.

"With the geo-thermal system," he said, "we are not relying on fossil fuel and there is no air emission going into the atmosphere."

The 44,000-square-foot buildings' green components include the geo-thermal heating and air conditioning system, window glazing to decrease heat loss in the winter and reduce cool air loss in the summer, use of construction materials with recycled content and a sustainable landscape design.

The $8.8 million center was one of Maine's first LEED-registered buildings. The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design green building rating system is used nationally to keep consistent standards for what defines a green building. Green building status acknowledges the design, construction and operation of buildings that use resources more efficiently and create energy-efficient buildings.

The center includes the Kalikow Curriculum Materials Center, 10 technology-equipped "smart" classrooms, a technology lab, study areas, conference rooms, offices and space for the Western Maine Partnership and Everyone's Resource Depot.