A biodome is a model that is built to represent a particular environment and the community of organisms that live there. Biodomes are a way to model ecosystems so we can study how living and nonliving things interact in their natural environments.

biodome: A human-made, closed environment containing plants and animals existing in equilibrium.

biome: An area with a certain set of ecological characteristics, including a specific climate, plants and animals living in it.

biosphere: The part of the Earth's atmosphere that is capable of supporting life and includes both living and nonliving things.

brainstorming: A technique of solving specific problems, stimulating creative thinking and developing new ideas by unrestrained and spontaneous discussion.

ecosystem: A functional unit consisting of all the living organisms (plants, animals and microbes) in a given area, and all the nonliving physical and chemical factors of their environment, linked together through nutrient cycling and energy flow. An ecosystem can be of any size — a log, pond, field, forest or the Earth's biosphere — but it always functions as a whole unit.

engineer: A person who applies scientific and mathematical principles to creative and practical ends such as the design, manufacture and operation of efficient and economical structures, machines, processes and systems.

engineering design process: The design, build and test loop used by engineers. The steps of the design process include: 1) Define the problem, 2) Come up with ideas (brainstorming), 3) Select the most promising design, 4) Communicate the design, 5) Create and test the design, and 6) Evaluate and revise the design.

habitat: The natural home of a plant or animal.

model: (verb) To simulate, make or construct something to help visualize or learn about something else (as the living human body, a process or an ecosystem) that cannot be directly observed or experimented upon. (noun) A representation of something, sometimes on a smaller scale.