WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES OCTOBER 1, 2020 15
Science education program BioBus to
set up permanent site at Astoria Houses
Courtesy of BioBus
BY ANGÉLICA ACEVEDO
AACEVEDO@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
Young scientists in Astoria Houses
will soon be able to explore
their ecosystem with BioBus, a
science education nonprofi t 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
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 BioBus 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 Bio-
Bus 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.'”
EDUCATION
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