BioBus has had a long history working with the community on the Lower East Side, operating out of community laboratories in the LES Girls Club and The LES Ecology Center. Our BioBus mobile laboratories have spent over 250 days at elementary, middle, and high schools in LES and Chinatown! Our school and community partners have hosted a variety of in-depth after school, school day, weekend, and summer programs and Junior Scientist Interns. Whether we are examining the biodiversity of marine creatures in the East River or measuring soil nutrients in community gardens, our community scientists on the LES Team strive to put LES residents’ interests at the forefront of our programs!
Discover
Since 2008, over 25,000 students from School Districts 1 and 2 have experienced the joy of scientific discovery aboard a mobile laboratory at their school! For more details and to request a visit, check out our BioBus Visit Page
Explore
In BioBus Explore programs, students have the opportunity to dig deep into a scientific topic through multiple sessions alongside BioBus Community Scientists! During the school day, BioBus Community Scientists bring research-grade equipment and scientific expertise to students at schools such as School for Global Leaders, PS/MS 34, and East Side Community School. After school, young scientists can participate in Tool Time, a program where they use a new piece of science equipment each week. High schoolers participate in Explorers club, a program in which students build an interdisciplinary relationship with science while building solutions to issues in their communities such as food insecurity. Contact BioBus Senior Scientist, Marina Delgado (marina@biobus.org) to discuss setting up a BioBus Explore Program at your school!
Our newest community lab space provided by School for Global Leaders MS 328!
Pursue
In the BioBus Junior Scientist Internships, high school and college students receive training and mentorship from research scientists, while developing their own independent projects and co-teaching BioBus programs to younger students! Junior Scientist interns develop lab and science communication skills and serve as near-peer mentors for younger students. All high school and college Junior Scientists are paid for their work with BioBus. The LES Junior Scientist program has been developed in collaboration with schools including East Side Community High School and The New School.
Recently, LES Junior Scientists have been working on science projects in the LES Community Gardens! The They have been studying lead and microplastic contamination, mosquito population control, and how to incorporate technology and game play into our curriculum!
Junior Scientist Interns conduct scientific research and build communication skills by teaching and presenting their research!