Science education program to set up
permanent site at Astoria Houses
TIMESLEDGER | 20 QNS.COM | OCT. 2-OCT. 8, 2020
G. Taylor and Astoria
Houses Residents Association
President Claudia
Cogler were also in
attendance during the
conference, each expressing
their delight
of the permanent installation.
Ben Dubin-Thaler,
the executive director
and founder of BioBus,
showcased some of the
lab features of one of
their mobile buses,
such as electron microscopes,
and its accessibility
friendly design.
The permanent
mobile lab at Astoria
Houses will become a
living classroom, with
plans to install a solar
array to power it exclusively
with renewable
energy.
“The mentorship
that’s going to be part
of this project is critical
for us,” said Dubin
Thaler, thanking
Constantinides, Bishop
Taylor and Cogler
for their leadership.
“You’re the political
leaders, the community
leaders that convinced
somebody like me, a
scientist, to devote my
career to inspiring
the next generation of
scientists, especially
young scientists who
don’t usually have that
opportunity in their
communities.”
The new lab is slated
to finish construction
by the end of 2021.
In the meantime, Dubin
Thaler encourages
interested pupils to visit
biobus.org for weekly
live student town halls,
recorded science challenges
for students to
practice hands-on experiments
at home and
Discover classes for
school groups.
Rendition of Bio-
Bus coming to Astoria
Houses (Courtesy of
BioBus)
In the last few years,
BioBus brought one of
its mobile labs to the
Astoria Houses and
other western Queens
neighborhoods, where
they’ve offered public
events, classes for
school groups and after
school activities.
Queens native Nicholas
Bustamante is a junior
scientist at BioBus
who’s currently pursuing
an engineering
degree at Binghamton
University. Bustamante
spoke about interning
at the BioBus program
after his school counselor
at Bayside’s Benjamin
N. Cardozo High
School provided him
with their information.
“I never expected
science to be as engaging
as BioBus made
it to be,” said Bustamante.
“When you’re
a high school student,
even through college, I
thought my experience
would change. Science
is very linear when
it comes to college —
there’s not much room
to improve, you learn
the basics, but you don’t
really get to explore
why things are the way
they are — but through
BioBus, it really helps
you understand the
topic and really fall in
love with how microscopes
work and how
the science behind how
everything really functions
in our lives.”
He said that access
to a program like
BioBus in someone’s
own neighborhood can
make all the difference,
and “gives them
no excuse to not chase
their dreams.”
Constantinides and
the community leaders
are hopeful this
will encourage young
people in underserved
communities to pursue
a career in the science
field.
“Last summer, we
had the BioBus parked
out in front of the Astoria
Houses. Kids came
into the bus and got to
see some of the ecosystems
in the East River
in Hallets Cove, and it
was amazing to see that
wonder on their faces,
the curiosity about the
natural world, their
desire to learn more,”
said Constantinides.
“That’s the spark that
this is all about — creating
that spark, that
love of science. Because
we don’t know always
know what we want to
be when we grow up.
I’m still trying to figure
it out at 45. And for
young people, it’s giving
them that possibility
to say, ‘Oh, I want
to do that. That looks
fascinating. I want to
learn more. Maybe
that’s what I’m going to
do with my life.'”
BY ANGÉLICA ACEVEDO
Young scientists in
Astoria Houses will
soon be able to explore
their ecosystem with
BioBus, a science education
nonprofit with a
mission to help people
cultivate a wonder for
science and a deeper
understanding of the
world around them.
Astoria Councilman
Costa Constantinides
held a Zoom press conference
on Thursday,
Sept. 24, to announce
the new development,
which comes after a
yearslong partnership
with BioBus and the
Astoria Houses.
“BioBus has already
been an amazing partner
here in western
Queens, to introduce
more people to the
wonders of science,”
said Constantinides. “I
am so excited we can
mark Climate Week by
making BioBus a permanent
fixture at the
Astoria Houses. This
will continue the Hallets
Point peninsula’s
revolution into a leader
on sustainability.”
Thanks to a $304,000
allocation secured by
Constantinides in the
city’s 2021 fiscal budget,
BioBus will be able
to purchase a new mobile
lab for the site.
Community leaders
Bishop Mitchell
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