AVONDALE - Cincinnati may not have a lot of places using solar power, but some of the ones that do are winning awards.

The Harold C. Schott Education Center at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden has received a silver rating from the national Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program - one of only three zoos in the country to receive that high a rating, and one of only five such buildings in Ohio.

The Green Building Rating System issues awards on four levels: Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum. The Schott Center missed Gold by two points.

The Schott Center, opened Oct. 5, 2006, is an $8.4 million, 33,000-square-foot structure housing a 60-foot circular greenhouse; the Procter & Gamble Discovery Forest; meeting rooms; an education center; and the Zoo Academy, a Cincinnati public school for high school students interested in careers in the zoo industry.

Among the Schott Center's "green" energy features:

Solar panels lining the southern exposure that cut the building's use of traditional electricity sources by an estimated 40 percent.

Waterless urinals and low-flush (1.5 gallon) toilets that save about 18,000 gallons of water a year, or about 20 percent less than normal usage.

Wheatboard, strawboard and bamboo for interior construction. The rapidly growing plants renew themselves within 10 years, thus reducing the need to harvest slower-growing hardwood forests.

Motion sensors that turn lights on and off when people enter and leave rooms.

Extra layers of insulation throughout.

To celebrate the award, visitors to the Schott Center this weekend can participate in "Good to Be Green Days." Duke Energy representatives will be giving away compact fluorescent light bulbs and Green Energy Ohio will have a booth outside the center to discuss ways to save energy.