News Releases

--150 students to have science lessons in mobile lab--  

Tarrytown, NY, April 26, 2016 --- On April 27, 150 students grades K – 8 from Pocantico Hills Central School in Sleepy Hollow, NY, will have the opportunity to use research grade scientific instruments, generally found only in research universities and laboratories, thanks to a generous donation from Hitachi America, Ltd., which has funded a visit to the school from BioBus. The bus will be at the school from 8:30 am – 2 pm. 

Hitachi’s TM 3030 scanning electron microscope is one of the research grade instruments on the BioBus.

Founded in 2008, The BioBus program includes a mobile science lab containing over $100,000 of microscopes that brings in-depth scientific lessons directly to grade school students throughout the New York metropolitan area. One of the microscopes used by the BioBus organization is the TM3030 made by Hitachi High Technologies.

Throughout the day, small groups of students (150 in total) will board the refurbished 1974 transit bus and use a phase-contrast video microscope to make movies of crawling amoeba, use a scanning electron microscope to see a fly’s eye, and visualize glowing, streaming plant chloroplasts using a fluorescence microscope. Students will work alongside PhD and Masters-level scientists as part of a program to increase their interest in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) disciplines.

“We are very excited to have the Biobus as a partner for our Corporate Social Responsibility activities here in the Americas,” said Theodore Lowen, Director - Hitachi America Ltd., “Supporting STEM education, particularly in communities where we work and live, is a key part of Hitachi’s mission to ‘Inspire the Next’.”

Hitachi America, Ltd. has done several programs at the Pocantico Hills Central School. Mario Suarez, 5th and 6th grade science teacher, 3rd & 4th grade STEM teacher, says, “This year, once again, Hitachi has exceeded all imaginable expectations of a community partnership with this opportunity. Providing the funding for the Biobus to come to our school for hands-on experiments for students in both the elementary and middle school grades is another prime example of how community partnerships between local business and schools can enhance a student's educational experience.”

Supporting this visit is part of Hitachi America, Ltd.’s overall commitment to activities directed toward improving STEM education in Westchester County.