Monday, June 20, 2011 was a distinct day for the little scientist going to SciTech Education Camp, a summer camp hosted by the New York Junior League. On that day, they were scheduled for an entertaining visit by New York’s very own BioBus! As they came to class, they were greeted by bona fide volunteer scientists (Clare Walton from Rockefeller) who came to help both Dr. Ben Dubin-Thaler (BioBus founder) and Sarah Weisberg (Dr.Ben’s good friend and co-conspirator) with their lesson for the day.
So, at about 9:00 the kiddies arrived in pairs of two—holding hand as they navigated the roads of Manhattan—looking more like scientists than the actual ones in their stylish white lab coats. When they arrived with their minders, they were instantly greeted by Sarah Weisberg. She was the one who would be doing the teaching for the day! She ushered them to the street curb and started the lesson off with a tour of the BioBus’ exterior. Ms. Weisberg explained to them how the BioBus worked without being “plugged into a wall,” as some of the children put it, by pointing out some of its fascinating features, such as its solar panels and turbine. Then it was off to one of the lakes in Central Park, where the students collected samples of water, and a few creepy-crawlies, using high-tech standard equipment (pipettes and test tubes). They then went back to the BioBus to view their findings under some of the BioBus’ famous research-grade microscopes. There, the kids discovered that there were, in fact, organisms smaller than “ants!”
They saw demonstrations on how to use that equipment and then got to use it themselves! Many stared open-mouthed at a daphnia found in the water samples as they viewed its twitching body parts and beating heart! Some even believed they witnessed some unknown flagellated microorganism race across the microscope screen. The day was a long one for the little scientists though, so it was cut short when they left to return to their class on aching feet. Then, after the microscopes were packed up, the turbine was taken down, and everything was sorted out by Ben and Sarah, the bus took off and revved down the street—on to its next stop at its next gig: the local deli. Hey, scientists have to eat too.
—Jordan Sutphen
