"The Domes"

The school that my kids attend built these two massive "domes" in response to Beijing's obvious pollution problem.  Pollution is a serious problem, even more so, I imagine, to children with lungs that are still developing.  You want your kids to be able to play outside but not at the expense of their health - and there are still many studies trying to figure this all out.  So we were all excited when the domes were finished! 

 

 

Outside view of the side of one of them.  They are each about the size of a football field.

 

One dome has a turf soccer field on half, with basketball courts, four square, and badminton courts on the other half -- with a track running along the perimeter.  There are balls, hula hoops, and all sorts of games to play with.  The other dome is home to 6 tennis courts.  The inside is held up by air pressure - about 35 psi, the same air pressure inside a bicycle tire.

In order to keep the air pressure constant inside the doors to get in and out of the dome are these air-lock chambers.  On the left are revolving doors - the right is a larger "come in one door, wait til it closes, then the other door will open."

There is also a gym (actually 2) and 2 dance rooms, locker rooms, a small cafe, and an Adidas store.
The domes are only for the kids during school hours and after-school sports hours, then is open to the parents from 6-10.

The reason for the domes is to provide a normal pollution-free environment for the kids.  On days where the pollution index is above 260 (which is still too high in my opinion) the kids still get to go to recess but they play in the domes instead of on the playground.  The school is doing some research and considering changing the acceptable pollution level for outdoor play - to as low as possibly 150 {in which case the kids will never get to play outside :(  }  They spared no expense in putting in the most advanced air-filtration system.  This is a picture of a few of the vents:

Pretty cool.  Of course I'd prefer for my kids to be able to breathe clean, mountain air - but when it's not available I'm glad there have been steps taken to keep them safe! 

This summer if you need to find us we'll be somewhere in the Rocky Mountains of Utah cleaning out our lungs :)