Tropical Forest Stories
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 142020Aloha from Hawaii
Our first full day in Hawaii was a deluge of information. Our first stop was the Bishop Museum, Hawaii’s State Museum of Natural and Cultural History. This beautiful museum holds within its walls artifacts stretching...
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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...
