Can Songs Help You Learn Scientific Concepts?
By Tania Lombrozo
My 5-year-old doesn’t know much about astrophysics, but she’ll cheerfully tell you that a shooting star is not a star, but a meteor — a bit of science trivia that she picked up from an album of children’s songs about science by the band They Might be Giants. The idea of learning science through music is certainly appealing, but does it work? Beyond rote memorization of a catchy chorus line, can it foster real comprehension and long-term retention of scientific material? Can it foster greater interest in learning more?