Students Rap for (and about) Science

The Science Genius program holds rap battles...for students rapping about science. The program combines science literacy with writing skills, music, and critical thinking. In this eight-minute video, NPR shows the final round of the battle, where students from ten public schools rhymed onstage. Want to see New York City public school students getting serious about science? Look:

For the record, the "battles" are technically "B.A.T.T.L.E.S." -- an acronym for Bring Attention to Transforming Teaching, Learning and Engagement in Science. PBS has a

lesson plan

for teachers. Here's a

PBS NewsHour

report about the program, explaining the details, including a surprise visit by GZA from Wu-Tang Clan:

And here's an extended music video featuring seventh graders

rapping about Rosalind Franklin

, whose work on DNA should be taught alongside Watson and Crick. Did you do this in middle school? I wish I had.

Finally, here's Jabari Johnson's full performance at the battle shown in the first video above.