Looking to learn while you travel? If so, a trip to the Arizona Biosphere, located approximately 24 miles north of Tucson, Arizona may be just the place for you. Built in 1986 to research and develop a self-sustaining space-colony, the Biosphere served as home to two missions. Between 1991 and 1994, the company who owned the project sealed two different teams of scientists inside the airtight facility to test survivability. Although the missions did not produce the intended results that planners had hoped to see, there was much that was learned from these two experiments. Opened to the public in 1990, the Biosphere is no longer an airtight environment dedicated to the study of human sustainability within a biosphere. Instead, the University of Arizona now leases the property and conducts scientific research on how natural environments create habitable conditions for plans. This information can be used to help scientists understand the effects of climate change on earth by experimenting with conditions in the Biosphere’s 5 biomes. Tours begin daily at 9 A.M. with the facility closing at 4 P.M. A two hour tour includes a short film about the facility and a 2 hour tour through the structure’s 5 biomes and through the facility “lung” which was designed for use during the time when the structure was operated as an airtight facility. Cost is $20 for adults and $14 for children ages 6-12. This is definitely a one of a kind experience and one long remembered so be sure to stop by and learn about this unique place.
![Arizona Biosphere]( "DSCN1535")
Arizona Biosphere
