Field Trips

The Biosphere 2 student tour is designed to both help students appreciate the history of the Biosphere 2 building itself and learn how it is used today to study earth system science.  Participation by all is a key element of the tour experience as each student will be able to share a bit of information with the rest of the group about what is seen on the tour route.  The tour experience includes an up-close look at ongoing research projects, as well as interactions with University of Arizona researchers themselves whenever possible.  This gives students a chance to observe and discuss, in an age-appropriate manner, the scientific method as they see it in action. Students will also experience the special nature of each of the six wilderness biomes inside the building.  Since no visit to Biosphere 2 is complete without a walk through the technosphere (specialized basement area) to see the machinery that controls the giant laboratory, the students make their way to that space on their way to the south lung (inactive variable volume air chamber). The students finish the tour by unraveling the secret word underlying everything they have seen along the way.  A packet of follow-up materials will be given to the leader of each participating student group so everyone can continue to benefit from the Biosphere 2 tour.

Interested in adding a standards-based, hands-on activity to your tour?  Check out our offerings by clicking on the quick links to the right.

To schedule a field trip for your class, please contact Christine Dunlap at 520-838-6139 or via email at Groupvisit@B2science.org.

For questions about the lesson content, please contact: madamson@email.arizona.edu