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Happy Father's Day! Our present to you: two suggestions of kids' music with the theme of natural history and science. Our journal isn't officially promoting these artists or anything, we just think dads deserve to listen to some variety (Baby Beluga is fine ... the first hundred times).
1. ACORN: THE NATURE NUT
If you grew up in Canada and are now in your 30's, you probably remember The Nature Nut's kids' TV series. John Acorn is an Alberta naturalist, a lecturer at the University of Alberta's Biology Dept., author of numerous wildlife guides, and a general nut about nature. Insects are his main love. I had the pleasure of seeing him perform some of his songs about butterflies at the International Butterfly Conference in Edmonton a few years ago - it was awesome. You can buy his two CDs for $19.95 each.
http://www.acornthenaturenut.net/services.html
2. THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS: HERE COMES SCIENCE
Each track celebrates and explains different aspects of science (e.g., My Brother the Ape). It's pretty awesome. If you've never heard They Might Be Giants, they have a similar sound as Barenaked Ladies in my opinion.
https://itunes.apple.com/ca/album/id328074265?s=143455
Any other suggestions? Leave them in the comments for the benefit of naturalist parents everywhere (including me - I'm craving a bit of music diversity right now).
Acorn certainly represented the high water mark of nature-education broadcasting in Canada. His music (91 songs- though not all are on the CDs) still has a timeless appeal. A logical list topper for this blog.
ReplyDeleteAnother to be included would be the Artists Response Team (ART) that produces environmental educational materials including original curriculum and science-themed music. They are very involved in schools and have numerous albums.
http://www.artistresponseteam.com/
While not in the same talent pool as any in the list above, I also had a chance to host 13 episodes of a nature-based show that featured original tunes.
http://www.wildfiles.tv/index.html
Hi Chris,
DeleteThank you for the recommendations - I'm going to check them out. Thank you for all of the work you've done sharing Alberta natural history with people. Science communication is a skill, and you have it. Keep up the good work.
Jay