Thanks to a grant from the Port Washington Education Foundation, the “BioBus” visited Port Washington Schools last week to help kids learn that science is cool.
Every fourth grader in the district had the opportunity to climb on board the bus and use world class microscopes alongside research scientists.
At South Salem Elementary School, students learned that the rate at which matter changes states—from liquid to a solid—impacts the shape the matter will take. To visualize this concept, the kids poured salt on slides and viewed the crystals under the microscope.
They then added water to dissolve the crystals, finally heating the slide to dissolve the water quickly. They were amazed to see the crystals had actually changed shape.
In a second experiment, the students literally watched paint dry. Not so boring when it is done under a microscope…they watched as solid molecules moved through the liquid, otherwise known as suspension, until the movement stopped and the paint was fully a solid.
The “BioBus” is a 1974 transit bus equipped with $100,000 worth of research-grade microscopes and staffed by Ph.D. scientists. It is Cell Motion Laboratory’s flagship experiment in creating a transformative laboratory environment for students.
