By Lindsay Peyton

A group of West Seattle students won the golden ticket--not to tour Willy Wonka’s factory alongside Charlie but instead to peek inside the wondrous world of the Spheres.

Heidi Paulson’s seventh grade social studies class trekked to the Amazon campus from Louis Boren STEM K-8 School on Friday, April 27. Boarding the bus to the Spheres, Paulson could already feel the excitement brewing in her students.

“There are not a lot of opportunities to see the Amazon Spheres,” Paulson said.

Amazon opened its new monumental biospheres to members of the community in honor of Arbor Day. Guests were invited to learn about local city programs and

environmentally focused organizations

The company’s horticulture ambassadors guided students through the urban jungles, teaching them about the more than 600 species of plants in the Spheres, as well as Amazon’s own programs designed to foster sustainability.

Paulson said the tour was an ideal way for her students to see history in the making. “Amazon is shaping Seattle,” she said.

Already the students have studied the pioneering culture of the region. “Washington was one of the later territories,” she said. “The whole West Coast has a different persona.”

Members of the public now have the opportunity to register for tours of the Spheres.

Program manager Justin Schroeder said it’s worth signing up for a spot. “We’ve created a really unique environment,” he said. “The plant palette we have is really surprising. We wanted to make it meaningful and impactful and tell a story.”

Perusing the first floor is like walking on the forest floor, he explained. Heading upstairs brings plants to eye level.

It’s part conservatory and part office space. Amazon employees work over laptops and espressos from the Spheres’ coffee shop. An array of fish swims in tanks. Plants ascend the walls, reaching for the sun shinning through the domed windows.

“As we invested in building in a urban setting, the one thing missing was a connection to nature,” Schroeder said. “We’re giving our employees a place to go to get out of the urban environment and get back to nature. And we’re really excited to extend that to the public.”

Recently the Spheres became available to the public for weekend visits. Visitors areable to roam the space on their own two Saturdays a month. Ambassadors are available on site to teach about the plants and the architecture. Reservations are required and are available up 30 days prior to each public Saturday. 

The Spheres have also been added the Amazon headquarter tours, which are available every 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays by reservation.

The visitor center “Understory” is separate from the indoor gardens of the Spheres, but available without reservation from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sundays.

For more information, visit www.seattlespheres.com.