Trying to make learning fun for kids has long been something that teachers have been trying to figure out how to tackle. When I was in elementary school, I'll admit that one of the only reasons why I looked forward to science class was because every so often my teacher would put on Bill Nye the Science Guy, an educational show with an iconic title song, unique style of conveying information and a memorable character the in titular man himself, Bill Nye. I loved to tune into his shows while in class as he taught me about the different phases of matter, the planets and photosynthesis. The show is quite outdated though as its debut was almost two decades ago; I wonder if other forms of media have come out to attempt to combine science with fun. As I asked this question, I discovered an ambitious project that not only combined fun and science, but did so with music.
Science Fair is not your typical opera, as you'd probably guessed by the title of it. Mezzo-soprano Hai-Ting Chinn along with pianist Erika Switzer came together and the brainchild of their collaboration became a combination of two school subjects on different ends of the spectrum, creating an opera based entirely in science education. Think of her as having taken some inspiration from what Bill Nye once laid the groundwork for years ago in teaching science and making it fun. Save for the wacky sound effects that Nye coveted to much, Chinn utilizes her powerful and soothing voice as well as physical demonstrations to introduce certain science topics from your typical baking soda volcano to explaining away DNA. She also adds in some light-hearted humor which would seem to pay homage to Nye's show.
According to Chinn, the 80-minute masterpiece came of her interest in both music and science and she sought to combine them. Chinn was clearly very dedicated to the arts and her degrees speak for themselves; she obtained her Bachelor of Music from the esteemed Eastman School of Music and then her Master of Music in Voice and Opera from Yale University. You may be asking where her interest in the sciences came from, and you'd be surprised to hear that it's really been with her ever since she was born. Her mother was a mathematics professor at Humboldt State University and has been very vocal about involving into STEM, though at the time it was a very much under-the-radar cause. Chinn admired her mother's passion for "girls in STEM" and has always seen science as a source of fun. Chinn would make following advancements in science a hobby while music dominated as a full-time profession. As her involvement in both fields grew, she was dismayed by a realization she came upon, that there was little music out there that celebrated the wonders of the science world. It would seem that Science Fair was a way to pioneer a path that hopefully other musicians will follow.
Though an audacious endeavor, it was met with great reviews, as critics reveled in Chinn's almost seamless combination of science and music. They also commended her command of the information and how well it was conveyed, especially to a younger audience. They too, hope that this will lay the groundwork for further great works that blend science and music.
The opera itself is meant to appeal to younger audiences. According to Chinn, the project is meant to "stimulate the childlike delight in discovery that she remembers from her past." The way science topics are introduced in the performance is also clearly phrased in a way to cater to younger people. If there were a digital recording of the performance, I'd love to see it being shown in elementary classrooms as I certainly believe that it would help to engage more children in learning. Chinn has started that she plans to shift to the digital format because of the pandemic as her plans to tour last year were hampered by the pandemic. The last stream of the performance was back on March 6th and I'm not sure when the next one will be, but I'll surely be on the lookout. In lieu of the full performance, I've included a long-form video of excerpts from the opera alongside an interview with Chinn herself about the project. I highly recommend checking it out; hearing her talking about how she came about this idea, how it was formulated and her reflecting on her performance is amazing to see.
