Tropical Forest Blog
Since its construction in 2006, our state-of-the-art Tropical Forest Conservatory has undergone major redesigns every three years to showcase the ecology of tropical forest regions around the world. As part of the three-year planning and design process behind our new Tropical Forest exhibit, Phipps staff members are traveling to Panama to study first-hand the region’s biodiversity hotspots, natural resources and culture. Follow their adventures!
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Feb 062018Behind the Scenes of the Tropical Forest Cuba Installation
Our horticulture and facilities staff, construction workers and coordinators joined together and worked for countless hours to bring the biodiverse tropical forest of Cuba to Pittsburgh! Before the all-new exhibition officially...
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Jun 262016Coming Home from Cuba
Today we awoke early to meet Lore, a birding expert with the Coastal Ecosystem Research Center, and traveled to Paredon Grande and Cayo Guillermo (also Pilar Beach). Over the course of the morning, we visited four different...
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Jun 252016Tiny Birds, Big Rodents and Other Life in Cuba
This morning, we drove an hour to the province of Holguin, located along the eastern coast. We met with Carlos Piña, an ornithologist and researcher, who gave us a tour of the National Museum of Natural History. The building...
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Jun 242016Parrots, Palms and Solar Panels in Cuba
This morning we picked up Rafael and headed to El Yunque to hike. When we arrived at a portion of the park with a trail to a waterfall, Raphael mentioned that with all of the rain we would need to swim in a strong current to...
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Jun 232016National Parks and Conservation in Cuba
We headed out early this morning to get to Parque Nacional Alejandro de Humboldt. It took us a little over an hour by car on back roads, crossing a few bridges and rivers to get there. We crossed Rio Toa, the largest river in Cuba...
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Jun 222016Parks and Hikes in Baracoa, Cuba
Today we began the four-hour drive from Santiago de Cuba to Baracoa, along a serpentine road called La Farola, with many bridges and winding turns along a steep cliffside. The vegetation changed drastically along our drive from...
