What is a Biodome Project?
If you want to visit a biodome project, check with the facility before planning your trip. Many areas with biodomes make them easy to find and offer all-access passes to multiple attractions.
Give students time to go outside (as long as outdoor policies permit). Please encourage them to collect insects and record their findings in their team workbooks.
It’s a habitat
A biodome project is a fun way to learn about environments, ecosystems, and energy flow. It allows students to become engineers and create model biodomes while watching what happens to the living and nonliving things they put inside them.
This can be a very structured or open-ended lesson. Divide the class into engineering teams of two to four students each. Distribute one copy of the Biodomes Engineering Design Project Workbook: Lessons 2-6 to each group.
Have each student team answer the questions in their workbook as they complete each part of their model biodome project. Remind them that engineers often face challenges before reaching a finished product.
Have the students take their biodomes outside to collect insects to add to them (optional). Please list on the board possible insect types that might be found in their local environment, such as grasshoppers, crickets, snails, ants, box elder bugs or June bugs, etc.
It’s a laboratory
A biodome project is a laboratory where students learn about the relationships between plants and animals. It also helps them learn about ecology, physiology, and geography. Several examples of regulated indoor ecosystems, or biomes, exist worldwide, including Biosphere 2 in Arizona and Montreal’s Biodome. These simulated habitats are designed to study the interactions between humans and nature in a confined space.
Divide the class into engineering teams of two to four students each and provide each group with a Biodomes Engineering Design Project Workbook: Lessons 2-6. Ask each team to brainstorm ideas for their biodomes and then share them with the rest of the class. Explain that engineers often go through the design-build-redesign process many times before they are satisfied with their results.
Instruct each team to build their model biodomes using the materials they have been provided. Then, have them plant their chosen seeds and water their biodomes. Please encourage students to observe the progress of their roots and record their observations in their workbooks.
It’s a research facility
A biodome is a perfect choice if you are looking for a fun and interactive way to learn about ecosystems. These self-sustaining structures mimic natural environments and are often built inside geodesic spheres. Many are designed to replicate climates, including rainforests, deserts, and wetlands. They are also used to test environmental remediation programs.
To start this activity, divide students into engineering design teams and give each group a copy of the Biodomes Engineering Design Project Workbook: Lessons 2-6. Encourage the teams to use their creativity to build a model biodome for their habitats.
Then have the teams sit together and discuss basic plant needs (food, water, and energy from the sun). Ask them to draw one or more food chains or food webs that describe how their biodomes provide these resources for their plants. Also, ask them how they will ensure sunlight enters their biodomes. This part of the lesson helps students understand that engineers must consider many factors when designing an environment, such as sunlight, air quality, and moisture levels.
It’s a tourist attraction
A biodome project is a type of tourist attraction that allows visitors to see ecosystems they would only be able to visit if they took a long and expensive trip. These domes are built with precise climate control systems and contain different habitats that mimic the conditions of rainforests, deserts, and sub-Arctic environments.
One of the most famous biodome projects is the Montreal Biodome, which opened in 1992. This geodesic dome houses a tropical rainforest, a maple forest, and other habitats. The biodome is also home to a wide range of plants and animals.
Several other biodomes have been created since Biosphere 2. For example, the Mars Science City is a 1.9 million square-meter dome that simulates an environment similar to that of the red planet. This project will allow scientists to study how humans can live in a harsh climate. The hope is that similar technology could one day enable people to inhabit other planets, such as Mars.