This solar-powered bus is shuttling a biology lab throughout NYC

The last thing you expect to see while walking to work in the trendy Flatiron District of New York City is a multi-colored, solar-powered bus from the 70s parked in front of a Club Monaco.

But this isn't just any ordinary bus.

Its insides are tricked out with $100,000-worth of microscopes and laboratory equipment, with scientists and school teachers scanning large monitors beaming magnified images of crustaceans - a hidden biology oasis.

The so-called BioBus is a mobile research lab and an educational tool. On this particular weekday in November, the scientists and high school teachers aboard had one mission: to identify the tiny creatures floating around the East River using their DNA.