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Summer
Reading Time Has Arrived
Friends of the BioBus Educational Programs:
It seems just yesterday we were shoveling snow from our driveways, and now we're in the middle of a record-breaking heat wave. A lot has happened to the weather these past few months, and a lot has happened to the BioBus Programs as well!
To begin with, the BioBus, our mobile science laboratory, had its usual busy schedule of visits to elementary, middle, and high schools throughout Connecticut, beginning in New Haven in September and winding up in Enfield in June.
BioConnection, our laboratory equipment loan program, was equally active, lending 47 modules to schools from Trumbull to East Hampton during the October to May period. For a full list of the schools that received BioBus or BioConnection visits,
click
here.
The BioBus traveled to the State Capitol in Hartford April 24 to take part in "Bring Your Child to Work Day" at the Capitol and Legislative Office Building. Joining us were students from Wilbur Cross High School in New Haven, who took part in our Genetically Modified Organisms experiment, as well as a Genes in a Bottle experiment generously donated by Bio-Rad Laboratories. The visit gave the Bus a chance to show off its newly installed SMART Technology interactive learning tools.
We want you to join us in our programs, and there are still some BioConnection slots available for next year. To request a visit go to the request a visit page of our website and fill out the online registration form. However, remember: Teachers participating in the BioBus and BioConnection programs must attend the appropriate training workshops. We have just added sessions in
January 2009 - but you must register by December 19 of this year. Go to the
professional development page of our
website to get the registration form.
As the school year comes to a close, we've put together a summer reading list for the bioscientifically inclined. Needless to say, the views expressed by individual authors (especially in the works of fiction) do not necessarily represent those of the BioBus Programs Staff or its sponsors. But there's a lot of good science and a lot of good plain fun in the following titles.
Elementary School Students and Teachers
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The Great Kapok Tree: A Tale of the Amazon Rain Forest by Lynne Cherry
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Cat in the Hat's Learning Library
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Land of the Spotted Eagle by Luther Standing Bear
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Here is the Coral Reef and others by Madeleine Dunphy
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Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett
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From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg
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The Stolen Smile by J. Patrick Lewis and Gary Kelley
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The Rainforest Grew All Around by Susan
K. Mitchell
Middle/High School Students and Teachers of All Ages
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A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
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MythBusters: Don't try this at Home
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Hot Zone by Richard Preston
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The Demon in the Freezer by Richard Preston
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Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything
by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner
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The Seven Daughters of Eve by Bryan Sykes
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Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
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Next by Michael Crichton
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The Botany of Desire: A Plant's-Eye View of the World by Michael Pollan
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Mendel in the Kitchen: A Scientist's View of Genetically Modified Food by Nina Fedoroff and Nancy Marie Brown
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The Beak of the Finch: A Story of Evolution in Our Time by Jonathan Weiner
CURE's award-winning BioBus Educational Programs
is a bioscience educational outreach service consisting of four parts: 1) a mobile science laboratory (Connecticut's BioBus): 2) an equipment loan program (BioConnection); 3) custom-developed curricula; and 4) teacher professional development.
The Programs' mission is to be a key bioscience education resource in Connecticut igniting enthusiasm, understanding, and support for science and technology. The goals of the Programs are to provide comprehensive, state-of-the-art, and interactive bioscience experiences for students, teachers, and the general public; to serve as a nexus for knowledge transfer among formal science learning, higher education and industry; and to encourage students to pursue science careers.
The Programs, which are offered free of charge thanks to the continuing support of sponsors, have visited more than 445 schools, reached more than 60,000 students, and trained more than 775 teachers.
The BioBus Educational Programs are an initiative of CURE, the leading organization for promoting life science initiatives throughout Connecticut. CURE (Connecticut United for Research Excellence, Inc.)
is a statewide, member-supported coalition of more than 100 educational and research institutions, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, and other supporting businesses. It is dedicated to promoting the growth and increasing public understanding of biomedical research and science in Connecticut.
Sincerely,
Sarah Berke
Director
BioBus Educational Programs
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