Students at the Caroline G. Atkinson School spent time aboard the visiting BioBus, a state-of-the-art traveling learning facility, to expand on their science curriculum and explore the world around them.
"The children are learning things they otherwise would not," said Principal Connie Velez. "It's an extension of the curriculum they are taught in the building."
The BioBus, an old San Francisco street bus converted into a science lab, is equipped with two separate demonstration spaces featuring high-power microscopes connected to projection systems. Students in the rear laboratory studied cells collected from the inside of their cheeks to learn about the building blocks of life, while students in the other section viewed a live daphnia, a tiny shrimplike organism, as it demonstrated life processes in a single drop of water.
"I have to say that I am tremendously impressed with Freeport students, staff and administrators and how well the school system works together supporting the students," said staff scientist Sarah Weisberg, who runs the grant-funded BioBus with her brother Matthew. "All the students that come aboard are well-informed and curious. They really seem to gravitate toward the experience."
Before boarding the BioBus, students were given a quick lesson on how the vehicle was transformed from a city bus into an eco-friendly laboratory that uses stored electricity from solar panels, a wind turbine and a biodiesel engine to power high-tech microscopes, flat panel displays and other lab equipment. The BioBus spent a total of 24 days in Freeport welcoming students from across the district.
