Biosphere 2
University Of Arizona Research Facility · Oracle, Arizona
A huge sealed glass-and-steel structure in the desert north of Tucson, built between 1987 and 1991 to test whether people could live inside a closed ecosystem. Eight people were sealed inside for two years from 1991, a famous and troubled experiment. It now belongs to the University of Arizona as a research centre, and visitors walk through its rainforest, ocean, mangrove, savanna and fog-desert biomes, the machinery beneath them, and the giant lung that let the building breathe as temperatures changed. The views across the Santa Catalina Mountains are part of the trip. A café, gift shop and trails round out a half-day visit.
32540 South Biosphere Road, Oracle, Arizona, 85739, United States
Open daily with seasonal hours; closed on some holidays. Check biosphere2.org.