Steam Plant skeletons bring life to campus
Emily Hays, a junior at the University of Idaho, was walking to the Farmer’s Market with a friend one morning when something out of the ordinary caught her eye.
In the window of the usually inconspicuous Steam Plant was a lone skeleton, its arms waving in the air.
“I can’t remember what it was wearing, but it was so unusual that we stopped immediately,” Hays said. “I thought it was so funny!”
Amelia C. Warden | Rawr Two skeletons converse with one another in the window of the Steam Plant on the corner of Line Street at the University of Idaho Jan. 31. Their poses change once a week.
The skeleton first appeared in the Steam Plant window in August, and Hays said she immediately wondered who was behind the act.
Scott Smith, manager of the Steam Plant, said he first decided to add the skeleton to the window as a means of drawing attention to the Steam Plant.
“My staff and I put the first one up in August and added the second one in September,” Smith said. “It’s a fun way for us to bring attention to what we do here.”
Smith, who has worked at the Steam Plant for 12 years, said while the Steam Plant is an important building on campus, it often gets passed by without anyone taking notice.
“The Steam Plant is a really integral part of this campus,” Smith said. “But so many people walk by this building every day and don’t know what it is.”
Smith said the Steam Plant, built in 1926, produces all of the thermal energy on campus — this includes all heating and cooling needs for the campus’ core buildings.
The buildings, Smith said, are connected to the Steam Plant through a tunnel system that not only distributes the energy throughout campus, but also melts the snow off of most walkways during the winter.
“If we were to stop functioning, the entire campus would stop functioning,” Smith said. “So I wanted to find an interesting way to help students get engaged with what we do.”
UI’s Steam Plant is unusual because of the fuel it takes to run, Smith said. Rather than burning fossil fuels, Smith said the Steam plant runs off of biomass and uses the waste from local sawmills as an energy source.
“The wood chips we burn don’t produce any carbon emissions,” Smith said. “It’s very sustainable and it’s something we’ve been practicing since 1986, before it was normal to be concerned about things like fossil fuels.”
Linzy Bonner, a UI freshman, said she first noticed the skeletons in October and believed they had been placed there as decorations for Halloween.
“I first noticed them during Halloween,” Bonner said. “I thought they were cool, and I was surprised to see that they stayed up past October.”
Bonner said she’s always liked the Steam Plant and frequently uses the air pump outside of the building, but she thinks the skeletons are a welcome addition.
“The skeletons are really entertaining,” Bonner said. “I think it’s fun how they’re constantly changing and I always look forward to their next theme.”
Smith and his staff work together to position the skeletons and brainstorm new themes.
Smith said they change themes about once a week, whenever he or his employees can find the time.
“We’ve done themes for the 5th of November, the Super Bowl, Valentine’s Day and we had them decorated for Christmas, too,” Smith said.
Smith said he and his staff might decide to change out the display in the window, but students can expect to keep seeing the skeletons for the immediate future.
“They’re not just for Halloween, although a lot of people assumed that originally,” Smith said. “Everyone seems to like them and they add something special to the campus, so we plan to keep them around.”
Corrin Bond can be reached at [email protected]