Have you ever been curious of what an actual rainforest is like, but not really interested in flying to the Amazon or Madagascar just scratch an itch of curiosity? Well, the Academy of Sciences located in San Francisco has recreated an indoors, four-story living rainforest, the
Osher Rainforest!
This rainforest is incased in a 90 ft diameter glass dome. The walls are also made out of glass, so you can admired the magnificence from the outside. As you walk inside, you will immediate notice the climate change. The temperature is kept around 82-85 degrees Fahrenheit with a humidity of 75%.
As you walk up the three stories, you will encounter three different ecosystems that exist in an actual rainforest. Although the levels in this rainforest's replica is inspired by different rainforests around the world, just keep in mind that all rainforests do have different levels, each with their own ecosystems.
So at the ground level, you experience the Bornean Forest Floor. This ground level is suppose to be a replica of the Borneo Rainforest, an island located in Asia. The second level you will find the Madagascan Mid-Story, and we all know where Madagascar is. The third level is the Canopy of a Costa Rican forest. Once at the top floor, you get an elevator ride to the "basement" level where you get a view of the Amazonian Flooded Forest inside a 100,000 gallon tank full of fish life.
The Academy of Sciences state that there are 1,600 living creatures in this rainforest. Unfortunately, the majority of the living creatures are contained in glass aquariums, but of course, a lot of these animals are poisonous and for obviously safety reasons, it is safer for them to be in these little habitats. The only animals and insects that are allowed to roam free in the forest are numerous butterflies and colorful birds. It gets pretty exciting when one of these beautiful butterflies fly and land close to you, if not on you.
It seriously is whole another ecosystem inside the dome. It is definitely one of the best exhibits the Academy of Sciences has to offer. Not only do you learn more about the Rainforest, but you also get to experience a snippet of what an actual rainforest is like, especially the climate. It would be even cooler is they made it rain as well, but of course a feature like that will require a lot more maintenance and monitoring to keep things in check, but a feature like that would definitely add to the imagination.
Happy Wandering, Alice.
