Tucson - American Southwest - page 382

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SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY MUSEUMS
Biosphere 2 Overrated For 2 years, beginning in September 1991, four men and four
women were locked inside this airtight, 3-acre greenhouse in the desert 35 miles north
of Tucson near the town of Oracle. During their tenure in Biosphere 2 (earth is consid-
ered Biosphere 1), they conducted experiments on how the earth, basically a giant green-
house, manages to support all the planet's life forms. Today there are no longer any
people living in Biosphere 2, and the former research facility is operated more as a tour-
ist attraction than as a science center. Tours take visitors inside the giant greenhouse and
into the mechanisms that helped keep this sealed environment going for 2 years. The
strangest sight is the giant “lung” that allowed for the expansion and contraction of the
air within Biosphere 2. Although the building, which is in the middle of desert hill
country, is an impressive sight, the tours are something of a letdown.
32540 S. Biosphere Rd., Oracle (off Ariz. 77, at mile marker 96.5). & 520/838-6200. www.bio2.com.
Admission $20 adults, $18 seniors, $13 children 6-12. Daily 9am-4pm. Closed Thanksgiving and Christ-
mas. Take Oracle Rd. north out of Tucson and continue north on Ariz. 77 until you see the sign.
Flandrau: The University of Arizona Science Center Kids Located on the
University of Arizona campus, Flandrau Planetarium is the most convenient place in
Arizona to do a little stargazing through a professional telescope. As such, it should be
on the itinerary of anyone coming to Tucson (unless it happens to be cloudy). The plan-
etarium theater presents a variety of programs on the stars, and the exhibit halls contain
a large mineral collection and hands-on science exhibits. However, the best reason to visit
is to gaze through the planetarium's 16-inch telescope.
University of Arizona campus, 1601 E. University Blvd., at Cherry Ave. & 520/621-7827. www.flandrau.
org. $5-$7.50 adults, $3-$5 children 4-9, free for children 3 and under; telescope viewing free. Thurs
9am-3pm; Fri 9am-3pm and 6-9pm; Sat noon-9pm; Sun noon-5pm. Telescope viewing (weather per-
mitting) Wed-Sat 7-10pm. Closed major holidays. Bus: 1, 3, 4, 9, 15, or 20.

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The International Wildlife Museum This castlelike building (modeled after a
French Foreign Legion fort), located on the road that leads to the Arizona-Sonora Desert
Museum, is a natural-history museum filled with stuffed animals in lifelike poses and
surroundings. Animals from all over the world are displayed, and there are exhibits of
extinct animals, including the Irish elk and the woolly mammoth. Among the more life-
like displays are the predator-and-prey exhibits. There are also fascinating exhibits of
butterflies and other unusual insects.
4800 W. Gates Pass Rd. & 520/629-0100. www.thewildlifemuseum.org. Admission $7 adults, $5.50
seniors and students, $2.50 children 4-12. Mon-Fri 9am-5pm; Sat-Sun 9am-6pm. Closed Thanksgiving
and Christmas. Take Speedway Blvd. W., continuing in the same direction when it becomes Gates Pass
Blvd. The museum is 5 miles west of I-10.
Pima Air & Space Museum Kids Located just south of Davis Monthan Air Force
Base, the Pima Air & Space Museum houses one of the largest collections of historic
aircraft in the world. On display are more than 275 aircraft, including a mock-up of an
X-15A-2 (the world's fastest aircraft), an SR-71 Blackbird, several Russian MIGs, a
“Superguppy,” and a B-17G “Flying Fortress.” Tours are available.
The museum also offers guided tours of Davis Monthan's AMARG (Arizona Mainte-
nance and Regeneration Group) facility, which goes by the name of the Boneyard. Here,
thousands of mothballed military planes are lined up in neat rows under the Arizona sun.
Tours, offered Monday through Friday, last about 90 minutes and cost $7 for adults and
$4 for children 12 and under.