BioBus is back in person! Sign-up for in-person programs here,
and read on to learn about our response to COVID-19.
From March 2020 – 2021, BioBus paused in-person programs, but we continued to support our community and empower students through science. We responded early and quickly to move science opportunities into the virtual space so that students can continue to discover and explore the world! Many online programs are still available as we return to in-person programs.
We launched BioBus at Home – a collection of online programs full of ways for students to practice science and engage with scientists.
BioBus believes that every student should have the opportunity to experience the joy and power of science, and it is our mission to support students as they discover, explore, and pursue science – especially those students whose access to science is most impacted by consequences of the pandemic.
Learn more below about how we adapted programs to keep students connected to science and engaged in exploration and discovery.
DISCOVER
Discover! at Home – BioBus scientists brought the microscopes home! Since March 2020, we have connected scientists with classrooms across New York City in these live, interactive, immersive online lab classes. Classes from pre-K through high school gather in a virtual field trip with BioBus scientists to explore the world using our high-powered research microscopes. We bring samples from nature to investigate under the microscope to facilitate the elementary, middle school, or high school classes in making observations, sparking hypotheses, and designing experiments. Students are encouraged to ask questions and explore, and the whole class can experience the excitement of scientific discovery!
Student Town Hall – Every week, students joined us for a live stream on our YouTube channel to explore a new topic with guest scientists who are there to answer questions from students. The conversations were driven by questions that students either submitted beforehand or asked live in the chat. The scientists shared their answers with the elementary and middle schoolers who ask most of the curious questions! We held the first Town Hall on March 26th, and BioBus scientists addressed what students wondered about the coronavirus. Since then, we explored brains, plants, marine biology, DNA, climate change, and more – find them here! We were also proud to hold one Student Town Hall every month entirely in Spanish.
EXPLORE
Explore at Home (now called BioBus STEAM Challenges) – Try a scientific experiment with what you find around you! Each week, BioBus released a new science challenge video that introduces an experiment you can do with materials you find around your home. BioBus scientists created science challenges about birds, bugs, flowers, trees, growing plants, kitchen ecosystems, and your brain and senses! Try a new experiment that you can do at home by yourself, with your family, or together as a class! Try an experiment and submit your results and questions to share your scientific discoveries with the BioBus community!
PURSUE
BioBus Junior Scientist Internship – Pursue at Home ensured our Harlem and Lower East Side interns flourish online. BioBus never stopped training, mentoring, and paying our high school and college interns. We equipped interns with laptops and teleconferencing equipment so they could continue to meet regularly with our scientists and each other. BioBus internships take an open-inquiry approach, so interns helped design their own remote programs. Through Zoom and shared Google Docs, interns brainstormed about impactful science research and science communication ideas to launch from home. They worked in groups to transform academic research into “BioBuzz” articles for middle schoolers, made videos to explain the science of things like past pandemics and how social isolation affects mental health, and created experiments that students can perform in their own homes. Watch them present some of their projects in this special Student Town Hall: Junior Scientist Edition.
Please let us know how we can support you and help teachers, parents, and students. Email us directly at learning@biobus.org with questions or ideas.
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Your support is transformative and appreciated.