The Biosphere House was set up as a decentralised project of the
world exposition Expo 2000 in
Hanover. The project is based on the
modular principle and is continually being developed: Originally the Biosphere House was a single-storey building that opened in March 2000 as an information centre for the biosphere reserve. An important part of the centre is a multi-faceted
multimedia exhibition. In March 2002, two years after its opening, the nature experience centre (
Naturerlebniszentrum) was added. This consists of an exhibition room with adjacent accommodation and a restaurant, as well as an
interactive circular path. This is 1,500 metres long and has 14 way stations with interesting information about the region; it is also pram- and wheelchair-friendly. The nature experience centre is frequently used by school classes. In June 2003 a
treetop walkway was opened with a length of 270 metres and running through the treetops of the Palatine Forest over
suspension bridges and plate bridges (
Tellerbrücke). The aerial high point and finish is an "eagle's nest", 35 metres high, from where there are good views over the biosphere reserve. To return to the ground there is a 45 metre long slide. In its first 3 years 467,000 people experienced the walkway. The Water Experience Path (
Wasser-Erlebnis-Weg) was opened in 2006. The ca. 2 kilometre long route along the Saarbach comprises 14 stations, at which various aspects of
water are presented, e.g. hydropower, water creatures and water quality. Also in 2006 the second floor of the main building of the Biosphere House was opened with an exhibition with an interactive history on the subject of waterbodies and stream valleys (
Gewässer und Bachtäler). == Economics ==