Science and Education in Biodomes

Guinnessy writes: "Many of you will remember the excitement around biosphere 2, a project to enclose 8 people in a sealed environment to see if they could survive a year on just the resources produced inside the dome. It failed (although they did discover some interesting data from it). Now, in the UK, a bunch of scientists, engineers and environments have created the Eden Project, a similar scheme (e.g. closed environments mimicking various climate conditions around the world) to biosphere 2 except the general public can walk through the domes to learn about the importance of plant life. Wired News magazine has an excellent article explaining some of the technology used in its construction (it amazed me how far they have come compared to the biosphere 2 design) and how it is educating the public." Hey, according to Mission to Mars all you need is some flapping canvas to keep your habitat secure.

Comments

Biospheres for Mathematicians

[wildsurf]

1. Pick a location.
2. Build a small enclosure around yourself.
3. Define yourself to be on the outside.

I wonder what's next

[Treeluvinhippy]

From the site

In a giant crater in Cornwall, England we bring the stories of our world to life. In the huge covered conservatories, or Biomes as we call them, you can visit the majestic rainforests, the Mediterranean, South Africa and California and in the Outdoor Landscape discover more about the plants and places that share our Cornish climate.



I wonder what's in store for Biomes 2? I have an idea, since each city has a distinctive personality maybe we can adapt this for an urban enviroment.

Welcome to the London Biomes where we recreate the wonders of South Chigago. I know I've said this before outside, however I find it nessasary to remind everyone again to please insure that all jewlery and any belongings of value are hidden safely out of siight thoughout the tour. Umm hello sir, company rules clearly state no handouts to the winos. Alright everyone if you could look to your left someone wrote 'Welcme to Crakvile' on the side of that building in orange spraypaint. On that streetcorner to your right we find two middle-aged prostitutes who seem.....

Re:Big Brother

[cyroth]

And it makes me NOT want to think about the movie Bio-dome with Pauly Shore

Re:a pun on the book by Ben Elton?

[Anonymous Coward]

The name "Eden" predates both of these uses, I believe.

Re:First-Hand View

[Mike Connell]

but for the most part they let the plants speak for themselves

Man! That's something I have see, as long as they're not the type of plants from Tarzan that say

"yummmmmmm... yuuuuuuuummmm.... man fleshhhh.....", and then drag you off into the bushes to the sound of slurping and screaming.

Do they have tenticles? Do you have to go around with guards wielding flamesthrowers and herbicide grenades?

Sounds COOL! ;-)

Re:Large scale for commerical use?

[T. Will S. Idea]

Why couldn't a company design an enclosure that reproduces those conditions in, say, Nebraska where land is cheap and produce comparable crops?

Because nobody would pay $20 for a bottle of wine made in Nebraska, no matter how much it tasted like expensive French wine.