Science lab on wheels sparks student interest in STEM
As he finished his Ph.D. thesis in 2007, Ben Dubin-Thaler took a risk: rather than accepting a full-time job offer, the Columbia University graduate set out to create a high-tech science lab.
In some ways, it would be a typical lab, with microscopes and beakers, scientists and specimens. But there would be one key difference: the lab would be completely mobile.
Dubin-Thaler knew that many elementary schools, especially those in inner-city areas, do not have a dedicated science classroom or lab, which means many students never get a chance to touch high-grade equipment, like microscopes, until they enter high school.
So he convinced a group of generous backers to fund the BioBus. The converted 1974 San Francisco city bus is a science lab on wheels. It parks outside of New York area schools for up to a week, teaching up to 180 students each day.
"Kids have a very natural sense of curiosity and wonder. The magic of the bus is that it taps directly into that," instructor Danny Valdes told CBSNews.com.
Tapping into that curiosity is increasingly important, as several recent studies have shown that students across the country are losing interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
The declining interest couldn't come at a worse time. Analysts say there will be an increasing number of STEM career opportunities in the coming years. Experts at the Partnership for a New American Economy project say that there will be a shortfall of 230,000 qualified advanced-degree STEM workers by 2018.
With visits to schools, parks, camps, museums and festivals throughout New York, more than 70,000 students have climbed on board the BioBus over the past six years.
Trips to schools where at least 40 percent of the students qualify for the free or reduced-price lunch program (designated as Title 1 schools) are fully paid for by a grant from the Richard Lounsbery Foundation. The remainder of the bus' $260,000 annual operating budget comes from private donations and partnerships.
When the bus pulled up to PS19 in Corona Park, Queens, at the end of September, the students were amazed by the solar panels on the roof of the carbon-neutral bus. Their jaws dropped as they learned that there is a garden of wildflowers on the roof of the bus that has no problem surviving the harsh winter months.
In the front of the bus, they used professional-grade Olympus microscopes to examine a tiny aquatic animal called a daphnia. They took copious notes on their observations, just as a scientist would do, and learned new words like crustacean and exoskeleton.
When they headed to the back of the bus, Valdes gave them a bit of a shock. Some of them even screamed as he held a hand-held microscope up to his eyeball. Valdes also held the microscope up to their clothing so they could examine the makeup of cotton, fleece, and other fabrics.
"I didn't know I had highlights!" one little girl exclaimed as Valdes held the microscope up to her jet-black hair. On the screen, one or two lighter strands appeared mixed into the darker mass.
Assistant Principal Carmen Montas organized the BioBus visit because, like Dubin-Thaler, she understands the importance of sparking interest in science at a young age.
"Children who are exposed to science early certainly understand that it is not boring, it is not geeky, it can be fun and exciting," Montas said. "Today I think we will have changed several minds of these children to look at science in a different way."
