However, unlike the latter, the Montreal Biodome was designed primarily as a museum, resembles but is fundamentally different from a closed ecological system such as Biosphere 2.

[1] The velodrome, along with the accompanying Olympic pool, inspired Tallibert's later designs for Luxembourg's National Sports and Culture Centre.

[7] The facility allows visitors to walk through replicas of four ecosystems found in the Americas: All the exhibits are housed inside the former velodrome that was used for the cycling and judo events of the 1976 Summer Olympics, with each of the four environments taking up a portion of the stadium.

As well, two new species have been discovered living in the Biodome: the acarian Copidognathus biodomus in the simulated estuary in 1996,[7][9] and the bacterium Nitratireductor aquibiodomus in the water reprocessing system in 2003.

[10] In October 2015, it was announced that both the Biodome and the Insectarium would be closing their doors to the public from September 2016 to December 2017, in order to be renovated, as part of the city of Montreal's 375th anniversary;[11] however, in August 2016, the mayor of Montreal cancelled the contract to renovate the Biodome, because the bid results received by the city were much higher than the initial estimates.