zoOceanarium, specialists in a new generation of aquarium and zoological facilities, have created three new educational Biodomes in a Dubai school. The Arbor School is now enjoying a tropical rainforest dome, a crop forest and a hands-on activity dome.
The Arbor School in Dubai approached the zoOceanarium group to develop a project which could help students understand different environments within their school. The school was inspired by zoOceanarium’s work on Dubai’s Green Planet project. A small team of zoOceanarium staff worked on the school project, including animal, plant and landscape specialists, under Project Manager Richard Champion. A second team of design and construction professionals assisted the school team in creating the project.
The project took place in phases. The Domes themselves were purchased in the UK and transported to Dubai by Solardome. The team worked closely with the school to develop the concept and decide on the plant and animal collection. The next phase was to plan the environmental requirements for the Biodomes to keep the plants and animals healthy. The project also took into account the needs of the students, allowing for health and safety requirements and an effective learning environment.
Ecological education
The project was fast-tracked and took less than six months to complete. The Biodomes are now open and being enjoyed by students at the school. The plant collection will continue to be developed during the coming year, and animals are starting to be introduced into their new habitats. The Biodomes already include chameleons, tortoises and terrapins.
The Biodomes have a natural theme, developed with theming specialists Sim Leisure. Local landscape professionals Expressions helped to coordinate the planting plans for the habitats.
The company enjoyed being a part of this educational project and said “The zoOaceanrium team is delighted to have been able to help deliver the project and play a major role in creating this specialist facility. The team continues to support the School through training and advice and ensuring its long-term success.”
Nina Swann is the Marketing Director of Arbor School. She says that the Biodomes are proving popular with students, as well as staff and parents, and will have a positive impact on their education, “These biodomes are central in our mission to deliver our ecological place-based education. We wanted to develop varied learning spaces for our students, and to give them access to varied ecoliteracy opportunities. Awe, wonder and play in environments they wouldn’t usually have access to as a child growing up in the Gulf.”
zoOceanarium has been working on an ambitious new project, transforming a 19th Century historic building into a modern, 21st Century aquarium. The St. Louis Aquarium at Union Station is set to open later in 2019.
