The Tupper Labs

The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama City is housed in a former-hotel building called Tupper Labs, after Earl Silas Tupper (see photo of bust), of Tupperware fame. It is in Balboa, bordering on Caledonia (the Panama City “ghetto”), and near the Museum of Contemporary Art. While lab space is not overwhelming, it is a modern facility with a conference center, library, and cafeteria. Tuesdays are the busy days, when researchers stationed in Gamboa and the Barro Colorado Island come back from the field.

Lab work for my project will take place here, as I require a mass spectrometer to measure the foliar phosphorus levels in my tree seedlings. The Fortuna "lab" will consist of a table and entirely of materials I take with me. But more on that later.