Biosphere 2

January 12, 2010 on 6:59 pm | In Arizona, Travel | No Comments

I used my U of A student catcard to get a 50% discount on admission into Biosphere 2, which normally runs $20/person. Money well spent, it was a unique experience being able to enter into a completely different climate just by taking a step into the next room-going from a balmy day in the rainforest to a dry almost crisp January day in the desert.
It sure would have been fun to have been here when all the lizards and critters were running about. I guess they were thriving a little too well though because the researchers were tripping over them trying to do their work to the point of distraction and eventually they decided they all had to go-and were donated to various zoos and others were even released into the desert.
We took an educational glimpse behind the scenes to look at the elaborate piping and drainage system as well as learn a little about how the air and water are controlled and filtered. Then we went into “the lungs” of the operation where a huge ball-like diaphragm would heave slowly up and down adjusting as the pressure in the room changed-this was to keep the airtight biosphere glass windows from imploding or exploding. I wouldn’t have thought of that, so it’s good to know they did. There was an intense crazy feeling like being caught in a fierce wind walking through the door of the lung room to the outside, and then one step further and you were back in the desert and it was a calm windless day. Such a transition! Anyway, if you get a chance, it’s definitely worth checking out as one of the 50 Wonders of the World, and it’s a pretty scenic drive, less than an hour from Tucson.