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da Vinci and Friends:
Curriculum Where Science and the Arts Meet
Curriculum Resources for Teachers:
Videos, Music, and Electronic Resources
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“Who would believe that so small a space could contain the image of all the universe? O mighty process! What talent can avail to penetrate a nature such as these? What tongue will it be that can unfold so great a wonder? Verily, none! This it is that guides the human discourse to the considering of divine things. Here the figures, here the colors, here all the images of every part of the universe are contracted to a point. O what a point is so marvelous!”
- Leonardo da Vinci, describing the camera obscura
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Music: Science Meets Music
Music: Science Songs
Video: Lost Roman Treasure
Video: Leonardo: A Dream of Flight
Software: Science In Your Ear
Software: The Cartoon Caper
Software: Science Court (Sound)
Video: The Sun Dagger
Video: The Mystery of Chaco Canyon
Music: Worm Drive: The Musical
Video: 3D Chemistry
Music: Songs of Science and Math
Music: Science Meets Music
Jeff Moran, also known as Dr. Chordate, is a science educator who is a promoter of music in science education. His web site is extensive and includes lists of resources (his and others) for music and humor in the science classroom which can be purchased through the site. One example is Jim Dixon’s book of over 120 original Biology Poems and Songs covering nearly every aspect of the life sciences. Physics, chemistry, geology and environmental sciences are among the topics with listings.
http://www.tranquility.net/~scimusic/
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Music: Science Songs
You may have heard the hyperactively fast-paced "The Elements" song by Tom Lehrer, Sung to the tune of "I am the very model of a modern Major-General" from Gilbert & Sullivan's "Pirates of Penzance." The lyrics and music for this song can be found at the Educational CyberPlayground, along with other songs on science topics such as color, electromagnetic spectrum, electricity, magnetism and optics.
http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/IEC/elementsong.html
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Video: Lost Roman Treasure
In this PBS production of NOVA, we see experts rescue priceless mosaics from an ancient city before it is flooded by a reservoir. On the web site, find out the pros and cons of salvage archaeology and examine ten of the painted-pebble floors rescued from Zeugma, Italy.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/zeugma/
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Video: Leonardo: A Dream of Flight
A thoughtfully done 48-minute video (1997, Devine Productions, Inc.) introduces Leonardo da Vinci so that upper elementary students could imagine themselves in the story. It features an 11-year old boy who befriends the great artist. They inspire each other, and we see them pursuing flight, from a study of winged creatures to design and experiment. With real actors and convincing settings, it is a treat compared to many educational videos. Available from museum stores and:
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/leonardo_a_dream_of_flight/
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Software: Science in Your Ear
The Learning Company, Minneapolis, MN, 1997.Grades 4-8. Students explore hearing, and musical instruments, create an instrument, and are introduced to sound waves in an inquiry-based format. "Thinking Tools" are incorporated for students to create tables, graphs, and record their experiments.
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Software: The Cartoon Caper
Videodiscovery, Inc. (Science Sleuths Elementary Series), Seattle, WA, 1996. Grades 3-4. Students conduct sound and vibration investigations, watch videos, listen to interviews, and research articles, databases, and encyclopedias to solve the mystery.
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Software: Science Court (Sound)
"Science Court" is a CD-ROM series for grades 4-6 that mixes animated courtroom drama, hands-on science activities, and humor to teach students fundamental science concepts and model good scientific practice. As each case unfolds, students examine the facts and perform hands-on experiments to help them predict the verdict.
http://www.tomsnyder.com/classroom/scicourt/
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Video: The Sun Dagger
This video documents an intriguing interface between art and science. Artist anna Sofaer was studying native rock art in New Mexico, and observed a special relationship between a dagger of light on the summer solstice and a spiral design carved in light. It was indeed a celestial calendar constructed by the Anasazi people a thousand years earlier. Narrated by Robert Redford and joined by mythologist Joseph Campbell. Released in 1983, 59 minutes (shorter version available), and aimed at grade 7 to adult.
http://www.bullfrogfilms.com/catalog/sd1.html
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Video: The Mystery of Chaco Canyon
This is the long-awaited sequel to artist Anna Sofaer's classic film The Sun Dagger. The film reveals that between 850 and 1150 AD, the Chacoan people designed and constructed massive ceremonial buildings in a complex celestial pattern throughout a vast desert region. Artists and scientists probe the meaning and knowledge behind the architecture. Aerial and time lapse footage, computer modeling, and interviews with scholars show how the Chacoan culture designed, oriented and located its major buildings in relationship to the sun and moon. Narrated by Robert Redford, it is suitable for middle and high school.
http://www.bullfrogfilms.com/catalog/mocc.html
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Music: Worm Drive: The Musical
An audio CD and workbook for children ages 6-12 features an ecological comedy that teaches children about the importance of caring for the earth’s soil and protecting the environment. There are 25 folksy songs with titles such as “Worm Lullaby” and “The Dirtology Man.” Order for $16.95 from Flowerfield Enterprises/Flower Press, 10332 Shaver Rd., Kalamazoo, MI 49024.
http://www.wormwoman.com/acatalog/Worm_Drive.html
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Video: 3D Chemistry
Chemistry teacher Russell White has developed a video using 3-D animation to demonstrate the relationship between the arrangement of atoms in a molecule and the molecule's shape. He hopes his video will help students master complex abstract concepts and free up teachers from having to spend time on basic material, according to an article in "The Charlotte Observer" (N.C.).It also allows him to exercise his creative side in a world filled with formulas and facts. "With animation, I get to create light, and to light objects so they show up correctly," White says. "It's like creating a virtual world. And I plan to add live-action stuff in future films with myself melting or turning into vapor and blowing away."
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/9044157.htm
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Music: Songs of Science and Math
Anyone who has used music in the classroom probably knows that it reaches students on a level that traditional techniques can not. Here is a massive resource to help you find music for the science classroom: MASSIVE (Math And Science Song Information – Viewable Everywhere), an online database which contains information on over 1800 science and math songs. You can hear sound clips, get purchasing information, and even listen to MASSIVE radio online. Some music even comes with classroom-tested lesson plan, games and quizzes that correlate with the NSES standards!
www.science-groove.org/MASSIVE
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