News

• WHEELS on the Bus

  On October 25th, we visited Washington Heights Expeditionary Learning School (WHEELS) and did some amazing science with the students there. Check out this blog post from their teacher Jared Fox and the student's response to the BioBus visit: http://wheels12es.blogspot.com/2012/10/blog-post-due-1028.html Some highlights:

  "The BioBus did make me think about science because it made me realize that we are all scientists and that we can all help in many ways to help preserve our environment." -Alvin Valdez "The BioBus was one of the best scientific experiences I’ve had in a long time!" -Wilson Ortiz " The BioBus really got me more interested in science than I already was." -Cesar Cotrina "At first, my idea of scientists was originally envisioned as people who were in lab coats and goggles who experiment to find cures for known diseases, this idea for me is now gone as scientists are people who can observe anything and help people understand things that the world didn't know." -Hector Velez  

  Mr. Fox's students had been studying trout through the Trout in the Classroom Program, and luckily they hatched days before the BioBus arrive. These are images the students recorded of the Alevin (newly hatched fish) using the stereomicroscopes aboard the BioBus.

• Crowdfunding Science!

  Did you know that over 65% of the schools the BioBus visits are in low-income communities? These teachers, principals and students are starved for curriculum-enriching science resources, but slashed budgets often don't allow them to bring programs like the BioBus to their schools. That's where you come in.

  Support us at fundly.com/biobus

  ...and PLEASE help us by sharing our campaign:

        

  We've forged a partnership with Fundly, an online crowdsourcing platform, to help bring inspiring, hands-on science experiments to these underserved schools. In order to do this, we need to raise $75,000 this school year.  Every $10 of your tax-deductible donation ensures one more student will leave the BioBus proclaiming "I want to be a scientist!" Thanks to the creative folks at Fundly, you can even help bring the BioBus to a specific community you'd like to support. Thanks for your continuing support and bus-love, The BioBus Team Dr. Ben, Sarah, Latasha, Danny & Matt       

• The BioBus Boards a Boat and Lands in a Magical Island of Art-Making

  The BioBus went boating -- to FIGMENT, a free art festival on Governor’s Island. It was certainly a feat to ferry five metric tons of bus to the festival, not to mention the tons and tons of fun the BioBus brought along with art supplies and hands-on experiments. Adventurous festival-goers of all ages used BioBus microscopes to make photographs, which they got to print inside the bus and then bring the photos outside to use as inspiration for colorful, glitterful, wonderful artwork. Read more on our blog, and check out the results of our experimental art project below!

• The BioBus Nation

  In 5 weeks, we drove over 3,000 miles across 11 states to work with over 1,200 students. Despite the diversity of ages and backgrounds, geographies and ecosystems, we seem to always get the same response: excitement, enthusiasm, and a newfound curiosity about the microscopic world. See the video for yourself!

• The BioBus Goes Cross-Country

  The BioBus is going ACROSS THE COUNTRY! A six-week trip as far West as Denver, including many income-strapped schools along the way. We are trying to raise the funds to sponsor schools that cannot afford to bring us themselves -- PLEASE HELP!

• Electron Microscope Boards BioBus

  Thanks to TOPCON, the BioBus now has a scanning electron microscope on board.

• BioBus on TV!

  Today, CBS news boarded the BioBus and interviewed scientist Sarah Weisberg and a few of her students. The news show will air at 5:17 tonight. Be sure to watch!

• BioBus in Sussex

  The BioBus visited Sussex, New Jersey this week, looking at swamp, pond, and puddle water collected by 5th graders at Wantage Elementary school. Check out this great news story that made the front pages of the New Jersey Herald. We've found that rural and suburban school students benefit from interactions with scientists and high tech science on the BioBus as much as those in big cities like NYC and Indianapolis.

• Dr. Ben Named PopTech Science & Public Leadership Fellow

  Dr. Ben Dubin-Thaler, founder and chief scientist aboard the BioBus, has been named a PopTech Science and Public Leadership Fellows, one of 18 scientists from across the country who will receive yearlong training and skills development led by a world-class faculty of experts in communications, media training, public engagement and leadership.

• Science on Wheels

  Nancy Van Prooyen writes a wonderful feature story about the BioBus for the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology magazine. Read the article and find out what's in store for the future of the BioBus.