July 13, 2011
The Cambrian Explosion in Song
What does a music teacher do when he ends up teaching science? He teaches about evolution and the geologic timeline with music, of course, and that’s what Canadian elementary school teacher John Palmer did. He originally played “Cambrian Explosion” as a rock/hip hop creation in class but has since recorded an acoustic version. (The trio is called Brighter Lights, Thicker Glasses and consists of Palmer on the guitar/vocals, Michael Dunn on the dobro and Brian Samuels on the cello.)
Palmer tells us that former students can remember his “Cambrian Explosion” even a decade later. “It always floors me,” he writes. But that’s what great teachers do—they leave their students with both knowledge and the great memories that keep those bits stuck in our brains.
(Many thanks to John Palmer for bringing this to the magazine’s attention—we wouldn’t have wanted to miss it. You can find out more about the Cambrian Explosion and the Burgess Shale in the August 2009 issue of the magazine.)
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Wow! These guys are pretty good! It sounded like an acoustic Sister Hazel song, with a great dose of paleontology thrown in.
Comment by steve — July 15, 2011 @ 8:49 pm
Congratulations!!
Very good song, musdic and lirycs.
It’s funny.
Comment by Dinoman — July 17, 2011 @ 9:47 am
[...] Smithsonian’s Surprising Science: What does a music teacher do when he ends up teaching science? He teaches about evolution and the [...]
Pingback by Cambrian Explosion Song » Curious Cat Science and Engineering Blog — July 18, 2011 @ 10:32 am
[...] the Smithsonian. Here. It might not be quite as bad as you [...]
Pingback by Cambrian explosion set to song | Uncommon Descent — July 18, 2011 @ 11:01 pm
Fantastic! Great song!
Comment by Renata Netto — July 19, 2011 @ 6:29 pm
Awesome! I enjoy it. Keep it men Just Rock………..
Comment by John Gubbons — July 20, 2011 @ 8:36 am
Simplesmente divino!!! Congratulações! Extremamente útil e estimulante para os alunos.
Aguardo ansiosa a próxima produção…
Abraço, Juracy.
Comment by Juracy Vespucci — August 5, 2011 @ 11:03 am
[...] gorgeous song about the Cambrian Explosion. Smooth music, fantastically played, and sciency! What more could you [...]
Pingback by Brighter Lights, Thicker Glasses – Cambrian Explosion | Richer Ramblings — August 7, 2011 @ 8:08 am