Itโs like a science museum on wheels โ a fun, funky space where kids can tinker and learn.
Tucson had one somewhat like it years back, when friends Erik Herman, Bruce Bayly and Kip Perkins started the Physics Factory and turned a couple of old buses into physics roadshows.
The buses went to schools and public events, including one that was attended by more than 2,600 people, Perkins said.
Since those early days more than a decade ago, one of the buses has become Baylyโs mathematics roadshow, and the other โ painted green and fueled by vegetable oil โ stopped running about three years ago.
It was Herman โ who now works at Cornell University, and created his own Ithaca Physics Bus there โ who helped spark plans for a new one here.
Physics Bus West is currently parked in Perkinsโ backyard, a purchase courtesy of Tucson Electric Power.
But more funding is needed to re-create the insides, Perkins said, so an Indiegogo campaign has been started to get things rolling.
For the time being, the Ithaca Physics Bus is paying Tucson a visit, since cold New York state temps make its usage tricky in wintertime.
The exhibits on the bus are made out of used appliances that sit along 15-foot countertops, and the same is planned for Tucsonโs version.
โThe idea is to get kids excited about science and physics, and for them to see that itโs available to them,โ Perkins said.
Perkins said Xraise, Cornell Universityโs Synchrotron outreach program, is providing him with Hermanโs time and expertise, as well as a $10,000 stipend for 500 hours of work using the new bus to expand science outreach.
