A portable reverse isolation box (PRIB) for protecting an object from the environment and/or protecting a user from the object. The PRIB includes a housing comprising a container and a lid, wherein the container has structural integrity and at least a portion of the lid is transparent, and further wherein the housing forms an airtight and watertight isolation bay when the lid is mounted on the container a port formed in the container and a disposable flexible element mounted in the port in an airtight and watertight relationship, the flexible element being capable of assuming a concave configuration so as to permit a user to manipulate the object within the isolation bay without opening the lid.