Mustang, Duncan, Perkins, Meeker

Our first four programs of the summer have already come and gone! The rest of my summer schedule is here: http://www.montyharper.com/Schedule.html

I went to Mustang on my own last Thursday the 29th and helped kick their summer program off with the Sugar Free All-Stars! Lisa and Evalyn travelled with me to Duncan on the 5th for a jam-packed performance and a songwriting workshop that afternoon with the teens. Today Lisa and I visited Perkins and Meeker for two more jam-packed shows!

The theme this summer is science! I'm pleased to be able to present my "Songs From the Science Frontier" program at the libraries! The songs were inspired by conversations with scientists about their research, and I present them along with a slideshow that allows me to introduce the kids to the scientists and their work and lets the audience follow along with lyrics on screen. So far I've had a great response. It's going to be a fun summer!!

Lisa has been advancing the slides when she can be with me, so her photo-taking opportunities are limited. Still she's done a fantastic job grabbing some memorable moments with the camera. Enjoy!

Great crowd at Duncan!

An audience member at Duncan helps demonstrate the moves for "Bat Man." 

"Roundy Round" in Duncan.

Posing after the workshop in Duncan. The pirate costume was from a recent trip to Disney!

Snap those toothy jaws in Perkins!

Roundy Round in Perkins

Doing the Stegasaur Swing, Perkins.

"Let me hear you roar!" Perkins.

Seizmosaur Stomp, Perkins.

"Spring those sharpened claws" in Meeker

Songs From the Science Frontier Shows!

I performed at two Tulsa branch libraries today, and this was the first time I presented my full-fledged "Songs From the Science Frontier" program with visuals all the way through. This show represents the culmination of about three years of work getting into the topic of science, and figuring out how I want to present it for kids. It's also just the tip of the ice burg - much more to come!

Both programs went very well!! I have some tweaking still to do but I'm incredibly happy with this new program. Each song is connected to a real scientist and an aspect of science that I want kids to learn about. The whole thing hangs together really well, and I love having the lyrics up on the big screen so kids can read and sing along. I really enjoyed interacting with the kids between songs, talking about science. Both librarians were very positive about the show. There's a lot of depth to it, and I'm excited about bringing it to schools in the Fall!!

I have two more Tulsa programs tomorrow, and a fifth program Friday at the Sam Noble museum in Norman. If they all go as well as today I'll be on cloud nine!

Here I am posing before the morning show at Rudisill. The colorful background is my home slide, which shows the entire program laid out over my CD cover. This slide launches the program and from here we go to lyrics and images for each song.

This is from the afternoon show at Nathan Hale. I'm just chatting with the kids before we got started.

Here we are doing "Wind Energy" - a human wind farm!

Tomorrow:

South Broken Arrow, 11:00 AM

Brookside, 2:30 PM

:-)

USA Science and Engineering Festival in Washington, D.C.

I'm scheduled to perform on the National Lawn in Washington, D.C. October 23 and 24 for the first USA Science and Engineering Festival!

Can you find me on the list? It's kind of like playing Where's Waldo, there's so much going on! It'll be a scientastic good time!

Lisa and I are also working on booking a tour on the way out and back. If you know of any science museums or schools who might be interested, please let us know!

My program is called "Songs From the Science Frontier." Here's a description:

Dance like a dinosaur, spin like a planet, sing like an electricity-generating wind rotor blade! Children's singer/songwriter Monty Harper celebrates the wonder and joy of the scientific process with this interactive multimedia show for 1st-5th grade. Monty's lyrics amplify the cool factor in current scientific research, and many of the songs feature specific Oklahoma connections. Whether it's bat taxonomy, phototaxic bacterium, wheat genomics, or x-ray crystallography, Monty's enthusiasm for the topic will have your students itching to explore further on the science frontier!