Connecticut’s BioBus Visits
Connecticut’s State Capitol in Hartford
For Take Our Sons & Daughters To Work Day
April 22, 2004 9:00am – 2:00pm

Hartford, Conn., April 22, 2004
Connecticut’s BioBus is a 40-foot-long mobile science learning center that provides students throughout Connecticut with hands-on experience in the life sciences.

During Connecticut’s BioBus visit to the Capitol, BioBus Staff Scientists will conduct three 30 minute sessions (9:30am – 10:00am; 12:30pm – 1:00pm; and 1:15pm – 1:45pm) during which visitors will run an experiment. Visitors attending the BioBus as part of Bring Your Child to Work Day will be introduced to modern biotechnology techniques that are used to separate and purify molecules based on size and charge. They will be able to determine the relative size of the molecules by observing the rate at which the colors migrate through the pre-poured gel when electricity is passed through the samples.

Outfitted with the latest in bioscience equipment and state-of-the-art computers, Connecticut’s BioBus seeks to foster the excitement of scientific discovery among students and ignite interest in pursuing scientific careers.

Since its inception on September 5, 2001, Connecticut’s BioBus has visited 175 schools, teaching over 18,000 students during two-hour hands-on laboratory sessions. The BioBus has also conducted 114 community and sponsor events attended by 11,819 people.

Connecticut’s BioBus represents a five-year, $3.6 million partnership between 27 members of Connecticut United for Research Excellence, Inc. (CURE) – Connecticut’s BioScience Cluster – and Connecticut Innovations a quasi-public organization that strengthens the state’s economy by investing in high technology companies.

This spring, CURE expanded its science educational outreach programs with the launch of the BioConnection Program. This new program delivers the equipment and supplies for the three most popular BioBus experiments to Connecticut middle and high schools independent from the BioBus. During the two week period that a school uses the BioConnection equipment, science classes have the opportunity to engage in advanced investigational exercises using research tools and techniques beyond the scope of most classrooms.

CURE is a statewide coalition of over 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.

If interested in learning more about/photographing Connecticut’s BioBus, talking to its staff and participating teachers, and observing a class, please contact Abby Demars, BioBus Staff Scientist and Program Coordinator, (203) 233-4550.

Contact:
Amy Enders, CURE
203-777-8516