Kid Songs and Science Education

This weekend’s edition of Studio 360 was chock full of goodness, including a couple of science and technology items.   They Might Be Giants was the musical accompaniment throughout the show, and in one of the segments focusing on the band, their longtime cover “Why Does the Sun Shine? (The Sun is a Mass of Incandescent Gas)” was mentioned.  The band is doing a children’s album focused on science (Here Comes Science, due in September), and had their songs and videos (there will be a DVD included with the album) fact-checked to make sure they were presenting accurate material.  They thought their cover was fine, but the tune was originally released by Tom Glazer in the post-Sputnik, pre-Mercury Seven years, we now know much more about stars, including the sun, than we did then.

To correct the problem, They Might Be Giants prepared another song, “Why Does the Sun Really Shine? (The Sun is a Miasma of Incandescent Plasma.)” Both songs will be on the new album, along with tunes on many other topics.  For those wondering where the band stands on Pluto as a planet, your questions will be answered in September.  While you wait, you can listen to the Studio 360 segment on the need to correct their song (skip to the 3:40 mark to get right to it).  It includes an excerpt from “Why Does the Sun Shine?.”  You can also listen to the full version of “Why Does the Sun Really Shine?” that was performed during the show.

I hope someone from the National Science Foundation knows about the new album.  I also hope someone from the National Education Association knows as well (along with her colleagues at the other education associations around the country).  This is an opportunity waiting to be fully exploited.  This science album will be the fourth children’s album from They Might Be Giants, they’re in thick with Disney, so some science or science education group should be able to generate some synergy.