Written by Kyle
Our little Tucson trip allowed me to finally check something off of my childhood dream list. Biosphere 2 is a place I’d wanted to visit since I was in sixth grade. I got a book on Biosphere 2 about the project, creation of the building, and all of the wildlife and plants harvested from around the world to create this experiment which stuck in my mind for years. The idea was a group of “bionauts” would be sealed in for two years trying to create a self-sustaining biosphere modeled on the planet earth…biosphere one. It also brought to mind all types of sci-fi dreams featuring dome enclosed worlds, such as Logan‘s Run, Silent Running, and William Gibson books (Yes, I was a bit of a nerd).
The story of the original experiment gets pretty interesting with tons of publicity and media coverage, failures, coverups, and drama. There’s a pretty interesting documentary out there called Spaceship Earth which takes it even further into the cult-like origins of the team who put this project together, and honestly it’s like something out of reality TV. Two missions were run by the original team, eventually the Biosphere 2 went into private hands, and in 2011 the University of Arizona assumed ownership.
Located in the desert of Oracle, Arizona outside of Tucson you follow a winding road, capturing just glimpses of the space frame facility in the distance. You are greeted by a welcome sign in front of a visitor center where you can download an app on your phone for a self guided walking tour (Additional guided tours and experiences are also offered). It’s actually a great set up which allows you to move at your own pace, the app guides you through to well marked stops, and video clips on the app give you more information and archival footage. The tour itself is around an hour, a walking path leading you outside around the building, and through the biosphere.
It’s fascinating to sit down in the kitchen where the people who lived there ate every meal while sitting in the same chairs as shown in the footage you are watching. Wandering through the purple carpeted hallways and looking at the 6500 panes of glass and untold amount of erector set like beams used to create this unique structure. you really get an idea of the undertaking thie original project was. Many of the building’s functions have changed and additional experiments were done over the years utilizing this facility and its unique structure for environmental science projects such as soil erosion, a study on the effects of carbon dioxide on plants, advanced growing techniques and more.
Walking through the different biomes you see mangrove wetlands, savanna grassland, fog desert, and an ocean with a coral reef, and the most impressive pyramid-like section of the building… the tropical rainforest. This was originally built to replicate conditions of actual rainforests, and plants from around the world we brought in. After decades of growth the rainforest is actually quite amazing with upper, lower, and middle canopies reaching to the top of the 80 foot structure.
The experiment may not have been a total success, but seeing the scale of this dream in person is impressive. I’m happy to have finally been able to see this in person, it may have also brought back some memories of a certain Pauly Shore movie…. although I can’t say that has aged as well!
Ramble Around 