Biosphere

I'd wanted to check out the biosphere since I received my card.  The Biosphere is located on an island and it seemed intimidating to travel to for some reason.  I am really glad I got out there.  The first thing was that Ile St. Helen is beautiful.  I went in the fall and the leaves were spectacular.

There are a few other things on the island most notably La Ronde amusement park, a casino, various nature trails, and the Stewart Museum.  The rest are not CAP eligible.

The biosphere has a stunning collection of outdoor images that lead to the museum.   They are mostly pictures of nature.  You can see one well here.  The little person underneath the image is my daughter.  She is 4 and even she enjoyed the photography. 

The biosphere is actually located inside of a giant sphere.  They have several exhibits and a couple of movie theaters inside.  The goal of the museum is really to educate the public about the environment.  It does a decent job of that.  They had a room called waterworks which was my daughters favorite.  It is a temporary exhibit so be aware that it may disappear at some point.  The waterworks room educates children about water and more specifically water waste, but in a way that is amusing.  My daughter had a wonderful time filling her bucket with hand pumped water to fill a bathtub and she also enjoyed walking on water.  Speaking of which so did I.  Who would have thought this plan of seeing as many museums as possible would have permitted me to walk on water?  The had overflowing toilets, a cities you could build and flood, as well as boats you could capsize.  It was every preschoolers dream come true.

They also had rooms dedicated to identifying bug species, trash art, and energy efficient transportation. My favorite things inside the museum were probably: 1.) climbing up to the top of the sphere where we could see the island.  It was beautiful.  2.) There was a 360 film studio which was really beautiful.  I saw a film about endangered birds that lasted around 15 minutes which was really nice.  It was not quite an IMAX but not quite a regular film. 3.) We also had a lot of fun in water works.

The museum in itself, is not exactly spectacular in my opinion, but it is really well done and located.  I think this museum is a 4/5, but part of the last point came from the outdoor exhibit and it's location.  So if you are not eligible for CAP and if you are on a tight budget, you may just want to go take a walk in the area.  It is a great museum for children and contrary to my inital concerns, it was very easy to travel to.  We went via metro and the museum is perhaps 5 minutes from the metro exit.

Entrance fees for individuals
Adults: $12
Students (18 and older) with ID: $10
Youth (17 and under): FREE*

CAP members : Free

Other fees: Paid parking

Maximum fee (day): $16

Minimum fee (1 hour): $6