Biosphère

EXHIBITION

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This new exhibition is intended mainly for young visitors ages 9 to 14. The Biosphère is using a fun and educational approach to acquaint young people with this amazing ecosystem, encourage them to appreciate and respect it and take concrete steps to help protect it.

It’s a hands-on exhibition, designed to reach out to young people, grab their attention and inspire them. The whole experience is designed to take them on a real “expedition” through the ecosystem.

The exhibition comprises four main zones:

1. Great Lakes
2. St. Lawrence fluvial section
3. St. Lawrence Estuary
4. Gulf of St. Lawrence

GREAT LAKES
Did you know that the Great Lakes contain 18% of the world’s freshwater reserves — the largest amount of fresh water on Earth, apart from the ice at the poles? And that there are 40 million Canadians and Americans living around the Great Lakes, sharing this vast territory with 3,500 plant and animal species?

During the first stage of their expedition, our young adventurers skirt Niagara Falls, show polluters the error of their ways in a computer game, meet some invasive and exotic species and get a sticky feel for the eutrophication of Lake Erie.

ST. LAWRENCE FLUVIAL SECTION
Visitors can use a sonar/range finder to learn more about this section (and all other zones in the exhibition), how the water flows and high and low water levels. Then they can observe the impact of water levels on the ecosystem, through a game looking at the Moses-Saunders dam in Cornwall, play with locks and see how it feels to portage a canoe around the Lachine Rapids. They’ll have fun while learning to walk, canoe and use a personal watercraft properly in or near wetlands.

Did you know that 70% of the wetlands along the St. Lawrence have disappeared? This zone of the exhibition also looks at Lake St. Pierre, declared a “World Biosphere Reserve” by UNESCO in 2001. The Nature Conservancy of Canada, a special contributor to the exhibition, is also helping to safeguard this reserve, through efforts to protect more than ten islands that are significant because of their biological diversity. Finally, they tour a container in the Port of Montreal and play a game teaching them about freshwater fish.

ST. LAWRENCE ESTUARY
Young visitors start their exploration of this zone by learning about the characteristics of the Estuary, lined with numerous cities and towns. The emphasis is on water, of course, and how it becomes more and more salty. Visitors can conduct salinity tests to see for themselves. The St. Lawrence Estuary is also the cradle of New France, and they can learn about the history of Cap Diamant, as they scale its heights on a climbing wall! In this zone they learn to sail the St. Lawrence, why lighthouses are important sentinels, and play a game about whale-watching from a zodiac boat. Winter or summer, there’s always lots to discover, from a watery graveyard to a tragic shipwreck and even an underwater valley.

GULF OF ST. LAWRENCE
This zone of the exhibition leads visitors along Jacques Cartier’s route, as they learn about the currents in the Gulf. It’s enough to make you feel like taking a dip! Fortunately, a game lets them check the water quality first. For there are sometimes eco-disasters, including toxic spills. They can use a computer simulation to predict the path of the spill and draw up an emergency response plan, including “scarecrow” buoys that they can see and hear, used to scare seabirds away from spills. Then there are games to teach them about issues in the fishing industry, thanks to first-hand accounts. Finally, our young visitors round off a wonderful experience by learning about northern gannets, seagulls and puffins. Northern gannets are valuable bio-indicators of the health of the St. Lawrence, and they appear to be doing very well. That’s great news for all of us!

Water is the source of life. It’s up to all of us, of all ages, to appreciate this treasure and protect it.