Enter Biosphere 2

By Todd Moning
FMCA.com editor

Motorhomers are accustomed to making separate trips to tropical and subtropical climates. But inside Biosphere 2 Center in Oracle, Ariz., they can experience both.

Five controlled environments, or biomes, are enclosed in this 3.1-acre structure made of glass, steel and concrete. Built in the late 1980s, the $150 million facility is the most tightly sealed structure of its kind. It was designed to be a living laboratory to help humans better understand Biosphere 1 – Earth.

The biomes are a marsh, a desert, a savannah, an ocean and a rain forest. There is also a thornscrub between the desert and tropical forest biomes, and an agro-forestry (intensive forest) ecosystem.

Biosphere 2 is no ordinary research laboratory. In the rainforest, computers monitor temperature and control the rainfall. In the largest human-made ocean – with more than 700,000 gallons of salt water – a wave machine moves water around a coral reef.

Experiments
In studies conducted in 1991 and 1994, men and women lived in Biosphere 2 to evaluate its technical and biological systems and to determine whether humans could sustain themselves in a sealed, energy-rich environment.

Since 1996, Biosphere 2 has been used as a laboratory for conducting global climate change science experiments. It is managed by Columbia University, which is responsible for research, education and public outreach activities.

Tours
Visitors can take a 3/4-mile walking tour on a paved path that circles the complex. Views through greenhouse windows reveal the various wilderness ecosystems. This general admission, 1-1/2-hour tour covers all of the Biosphere 2 Center exhibits.

For an additional charge, a guided, under-the-glass tour called “World of Discovery” is offered. It leads inside the active research areas of the complex, traversing five of the seven Biosphere 2 ecosystems.

Biosphere 2 is located on State Route 77 at mile marker 96.5, approximately 30 minutes north of Tucson. It’s set amidst 250 acres in the Sonoran Desert, at the base of the Catalina Mountains overlooking the Tucson Valley. Plenty of free motorhome parking is available.

Advance reservations are recommended for groups of 10 or more. For operating hours, admission prices and more info, check the visitor information area of the Biosphere 2 Web site, call (800) 828-2462, or send an e-mail to info@bio2.Columbia.edu

For stargazers
The Biosphere 2 Observatory offers a Saturday evening public stargazing program presented by various authors and scientists.

Visitors have access to Biosphere 2’s 24-inch telescope as well as the observatory’s smaller scopes. The program is geared toward novice stargazers and experienced sky-watchers.

The 2002-2003 program runs from Sept. 21, 2002, through May 17, 2003. For details, visit the Biosphere 2 Web site or call (520) 896-6200.