Columbia University, the new manager of the Biosphere 2 Center in Oracle, Ariz., has opened to the public the section that once housed 15 "Biospherians" in two unique experiments to live self-sufficiently in a miniature world sealed from the outside.
Visitors are invited to tour the apartments and communal kitchen and dining room where the Biospherians worked and lived, and can look out into the rain forest, ocean, desert, savannah and agricultural ecosystems they struggled to manage. Also on view is Biosphere 2's command and control room, used by scientists to monitor data collected by hundreds of sensors within the enclosed 3-acre ecological laboratory. Admission is $12.95 for adults, $6 for children aged 6 to 17, and $10.95 for senior citizens.
Columbia also announced that a major exhibition on "Climate Change and Earth" will be on permanent view in the lower level of the newly opened section. The exhibition, developed by the American Museum of Natural History and the Environmental Defense Fund, examines past climate change, causes of potential greenhouse warming, its possible impacts on humans and society and the choices people will have to make to manage the planet. The exhibition has toured museums throughout the country since 1992.
"The question most often asked by visitors to Biosphere 2 is 'Why can't I go inside the Biosphere?'" said Faye Yates, director of public affairs at Biosphere 2. "The answer now is, 'You can.' Visitors will be able to get a taste of what the Biospherians experienced and learn about the unexpected problems they encountered."
"The new exhibits are an integral part of Columbia's educational mission to teach students and the public about the complexity and delicate balance of the Earth's ecosystems," said George Rupp, president of Columbia. "They complement our research mission to gain a fuller understanding of all the Earth's interacting natural systems, to learn how humankind affects and is affected by these systems, and to devise bold new strategies to become wiser stewards of our increasingly stressed planet."
Columbia has sealed off the former habitation area from the rest of the Biosphere with glass, so that visitors can get a good view inside, while scientists can maintain a controllable environment within the rest of the unique facility. Experiments inside the large enclosed domes are aimed at learning more about a future Earth where atmospheric carbon dioxide levels will be much greater than they are today. Researchers seek to determine how different plants and ecosystems will respond to potential global warming - something they can only guess at now. The effort seeks to provide the basic scientific information necessary to devise ways to avoid environmental disasters and to maximize benefits from possible changes.
"The newly installed exhibition on climate change is designed to inform the public about the potential for global warming on the planet," said Stephanie Pfirman, science exhibits advisor at Biosphere 2 and chair of the Department of Environmental Science at Barnard College. "One of the greatest lessons learned from the original Biospherian experiments is that the Earth's systems are complicated, delicately balanced, and capable of dramatic changes that would affect all of us. We need to develop an awareness of our role in causing and preventing climatic changes."
"This new experience for visitors, as well as the new educational and research program instituted by Columbia, help realize Ed Bass's original vision of Biosphere 2 as a tool to investigate difficult issues in the management of the Earth and the education of future generations," said William Harris, the new executive director and president of Biosphere 2 Center.
Edward Bass, a Texas businessman and environmentalist, co-founded the original project, which broke ground in 1988. "I think visitors will be thrilled with this opportunity to explore life inside the Biosphere," Mr. Bass said.
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