There are many reform efforts in the United States aimed at improving the current state of science education. Unfortunately, due to reduced funding in many areas coupled with the push towards a decontextualized curriculum that emphasizes rote memorization of facts there has been little time for students to learn through exploration in a hands-on environment.
A new approach by a few PhD’s is to take hands-on science labs to students. They have converted an old bus into a fully-fledged science lab on wheels. Although the bus may be old, the equipment and the science are not! The lead scientist behind the project, Dr. Ben Dubin-Thaler, Ph.D. received numerous awards and honors while matriculating at Columbia University. He continues to engage in Biological Sciences research throughout the United States – and he even drives the bus!
As a New York state registered non-profit, Cell Motion Laboratories, Inc. is the owner and operator of the BioBus. The mobile classroom offers both an introductory-type class in cell biology for younger kids, and a short-course that takes place over several days that allows students to conduct their own experiments.
I remember hearing about this project more than five years ago when it was still in a much earlier stage of its development and thinking this would be a powerful way to enrich the curriculum, and to allow kids an opportunity to get involved with science in a way that the average classroom does not allow for. With the subsequent degradation and dismantling of the science curriculum in the US, it may be that projects like this will be the only way that students get an opportunity for inquiry-based learning and lessons that are not driven by multiple-choice exam questions… that is when science has not been eliminated entirely.
But, programs like this can only continue if they have funding. Cell Motion Laboratories is able to receive donations and that are tax deductible. You can also help to keep the BioBus rolling with a $10,000 grant just by voting for them at: http://www.ideablob.com/ideas/5658-BioBus-Moving-Science-Educatio
P.S. – for all the teachers out there… if you would like to invite BioBus to your school the first step is to contact them here.
How does the Fed increase the money supply?