Background

Located in Oracle, Arizona, the Biosphere II was on my bucket list for a long time. This past summer I was out in Arizona on vacation, and my mother and I decided to plan a day trip to visit the biosphere. So in the late '80s, they created the biosphere and the goal was to use the facility to show how closed ecological systems are self-sustainable and can be used in outer-space. In the '90s, they ran two closed system experiments, one two years in length, where eight people stayed contained inside the biosphere. While they did run into problems, the experiment was very publicized. There was even a comedy movie created relating to the Biosphere called Bio-Dome. My tour guide said that they tried to get permission to film in the biosphere, but was unsuccessful. The Biosphere was bought by the University of Arizona in 2011.

Duration

Oracle is located relatively between Tucson and Phoenix. From the Phoenix area, it took us about two hours to get there. Once you get there, you can pay for a guided tour through the facility, and before the tour, you can go explore the living quarters that the scientists stayed in. The whole experience took approximately two and a half hours.

The Living Quarters

Once you go inside the biosphere, you go right into the living quarters, where you can see what the typical apartment looked like, and also see their kitchen area. In addition, they had a room that included research and information they are gathering at the biosphere for an upcoming expedition to Mars in the next decade.

Stairs in living quartersKatie Peles

Guided Tour

I really enjoyed the guided tour the most out of everything we did on the trip. Before you start the tour, they have you watch a quick video on the Biosphere II giving you background on the facility. Then we were off with our headsets following the tour guide! Some biomes that we visited include the rainforest area which they were putting in a drought, the ocean area that is up to 34 ft deep, and the tundra which was very dry and windy. After we visited the biomes, we went underground to see the very neat air system that ventilates and creates natural wind tunnels. In addition, we went to the large domed area where excess air goes so the glass windows of the biosphere don't shatter from the air pressure. In this large room, the air pressure is so large that it lifts up the ceiling of the dome to account for the extra air. It is quite a popular room, and when you let out the air through an adjacent door, it creates a wind tunnel you can go through that blows your hair around. This experience can be seen in the show "Ozzie and Jack's World Detour" which I love, so I was excited to experience this myself!

Air pressure holding the ceiling up in the air Katie Peles

The Ocean Exhibit

After the tour finished outside, we took the elevator underground to view the large ocean exhibit. While we only saw one fish, there is a ton of artifacts and displays, kind of like a museum you can read.

Window into the ocean biomeKatie Peles

Overall Experience

I believe that the Biosphere is a must-do road trip destination because it was informative and unique. Also, the views from the University of Arizona buildings and cafe were worth the trip!

Katie Peles