So what is a biodome? Da Vinci’s planned NatureDome a rare idea

Does anyone know what a biodome is? Outside of a poorly reviewed 1996 slapstick comedy starring Pauly Shore, the term is not all that well known, especially in Easton.That’s the point Easton mayor Sal Panto Jr. made when informing City Council of Da Vinci Science Center officials’ decision to withdraw its plans for a 70,000 square-foot science center with a “NatureDome.”This, apparently, was a downgrade from the previously planned aquarium, an idea Da Vinci tanked after stakeholders raised concerns about a competing aquarium in the Poconos.“The goal post kept being moved,” he said. “Everyone knows what an aquarium is. No one knows what a biodome is.”Technically, they wouldn’t need to. The NatureDome wasn’t really a biodome.The general idea is similar: an outdoor environment recreated completely indoors.The term “biodome” refers to a closed ecological system, like a man-made mini-earth that is completely self-sustaining. Da Vinci gave no indication its NatureDome, which would replicate ecosystems of the Lehigh River watershed, was quite that self-sufficient.But officials did say they modeled their plans after the famous Montreal Biodome, a giant museum of walk-through replicas of four ecosystems found in the Americas.There doesn’t appear to be any other actual biodomes that are also museums. Other known biodomes in the world are for research, only ― apart from the office biodome Amazon built for its employees in Seattle last year.So it’s no wonder that officials were worried about public reception to a relatively foreign idea.Da Vinci’s “NatureDome” would have replicated the outdoor environment of the Lehigh River watershed inside.There would have been three areas for visitors to walk through:<b>The Lehigh River</b>, featuring river otters and a virtual-reality simulator of white-water raftingThe Lehigh River: an area that will feature River Otters and exhibits about the glacial bogs found at the headwaters of the Lehigh River. <b>Forest at Night</b>, featuring the Lehigh Valley’s nocturnal animals, a glassed bat cave and a clock always turned to a night-time hourForest at Night: A large forested area where the clock will be reversed and visitors will experience what it’s like to explore the forest at night as well as the plants and animals that live there. (EHDD Architects of San Francisco/)<b>The Insect Garden</b>, where visitors could interact with Lehigh Valley-native insectsThe NatureDome will feature a series of full-scale, immersive outdoor environments that will take visitors on a journey through ecosystems found in the Lehigh River Watershed. (EHDD Architects of San Francisco/)With Easton falling through, Da Vinci plans to take its biodome somewhere else in the Lehigh Valley.
Source: Morningcall