Montreal Biodome

Biodôme de Montréal
(Montreal Biodome)

View from the tower of the Olympic Stadium
Location	Montreal, Quebec, CAN
Coordinates	45°33′35″N 73°32′59″W / 45.55972°N 73.54972°W / 45.55972; -73.54972
Memberships	AZA, CAZA
Website	http://www2.ville.montreal.qc.ca/biodome/site/site.php?langue=en

The Montreal Biodome (Biodôme de Montréal) is a facility located in Montreal that allows visitors to walk through replicas of four ecosystems found in the Americas. The building was originally constructed for the 1976 Olympic Games as a velodrome. It hosted both cycling and judo events. Renovations on the building began in 1989 and in 1992 the indoor nature exhibit was opened.

Exhibits

The facility allows visitors to walk through replicas of four ecosystems found in the Americas:

• The Tropical Forest is a replica of the South American rainforest.
• The Laurentian Forest is a replica of the North American wilderness.
• The Saint Lawrence Marine Eco-system is an estuary habitat modeled on the Gulf of Saint Lawrence.
• A polar area that is divided into Arctic and Antarctic.

All the exhibits are housed inside the velodrome (cycling stadium) that was used for the cycling and judo events of the 1976 Summer Olympics, with each of the four environments taking up a portion of the stadium. A variety of animals live in each simulated habitat, ranging from the macaws in the Tropical Forest, to the lynx in the Laurentian Forest, to the penguins in the Antarctic and the different kinds of fish that inhabit the waters of the Saint Lawrence River. As well, two new species have been discovered living in the Biodome: the acarian Copidognathus biodomus in the simulated estuary (1996) [1], and the bacterium Nitratireductor aquibiodomus in the water reprocessing system (2003) [2].

This is one of the city's most popular tourist attractions, along with the Montreal Botanical Garden, Montreal Planetarium and the Montreal Insectarium.

Building history

The building was designed by French architect Roger Taillibert as part of his much larger plan for a massive Olympic park. He also designed the Montreal Olympic Stadium, located next door to the facility.

Biosphère

The Biodome should not be confused with the Biosphère, a Montreal museum about the St. Lawrence river located inside the geodesic dome that once housed the American pavilion for Expo 67. The Biodome, in contrast, is neither spherical nor a geodesic dome, and was once called the Velodrome, as it housed the 1976 olympic cycling events. The Biosphere was not an animal and plant conservation/research centre until 1992.

Gallery

The Biodome, in front of the Olympic Stadium	Another view in front of the Olympic Stadium	View from above	Inside the Biodome (polar area)
Some penguins in the polar area

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Category:Montreal Biodome

• Bio-Dome, the film
• Biosphere 2, the attempt to create a self-contained ecological system
• Olympic Stadium (Montreal)

External links

• Biodome Website (English version)
• The Biodome's Penguin-Cam
• The Lowdown - Episode 11 Video tour covering the ecosystems and some animals found in the Biodome