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FAIRFIELD-In the laboratory,
Tyraine Ragsdale is a mild-mannered research chemist. But on
stage, he is “Grand Hank,” a hip singer who uses rap music
to teach kids about science. “The force that drives students
away from science is that they don’t think scientists are
normal people,” Ragsdale said yesterday after performing for
about 600 middle school students from Bridgeport. “But when
they see me, they say, ‘Hey, this guy is cool. Maybe I can
give science a try.’”
Ragsdale, 29, began rapping his science message to children
about five years ago after landing a job as a research chemist
with the R.W. Johnson Pharmaceutical Research Institute in
Spring House, PA, a division of Johnson & Johnson. He had
just graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a bachelor’s
degree in chemistry and wanted to combine his knowledge of
science with his love of music. “I had worked as a disc jockey
all through high school and college and I understood that rap
music was a powerful vehicle-in terms of the way it reaches
children,” he said.
“Rap music is what all students love, and I thought, why
not use this as a tool to promote education?” In his hour-long
concert at Sacred Heart University, Ragsdale used rap music with
his own lyrics to spark interest in education, particularly
science, a subject he acknowledge is not always the most popular
among students. “Anybody can be-a sci-en-tist,” he repeated
over and over again in the only lyrics to a song aimed at
getting students to think about being scientists.
“But just like a train needs a track to run, you need your
ed-u-ca-tion. School can do for you what it did for me,” he
rapped during a song that told the story of his own life. He
devoted another song to African-American inventors and
scientists, rapping out the names, discoveries and inventions,
of people like Garrett Morgan (the traffic light) and Charles
Drew (blood plasma).
The students, who were bused to Sacred Heart from three
middle schools in Bridgeport, seemed to enjoy the music and
understand the message. “The message is, if you want to be
somebody, you have to do you best,” said Juan Forero, an 8th
grader at Winthrop Middle School.
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Research chemist and rapper
Tyraine ‘Grand Hank’ Ragsdale wears a sequined lab coat as he
performs at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield yesterday before
about 600 middle school Students. Ragsdale uses rap music to teach
kids about science.
Ragsdale's appearance was sponsored by Research! America, a
nonprofit membership group that promotes medical research, and
Connecticut United for Research Excellence, a biomedical research
advocacy organization. “If, at the very least, we could impart
the idea that science isn’t boring, that would be the result we’re
looking for,” said Stephen Tyson, the New York coordinator for
Research! America, based in Alexandria, VA. “Science is not
boring, it’s exciting. That’s the message,” Tyson said.
Ragsdale, whose show has performed for more than 100,000
students at schools along the East Coast, said he plans to leave
his job as a chemist a R.W. Johnson to bring his science program
to schools full time. “The goal is to increase the enrollment of
students and to expose them to medicine and science,” he said.
“It’s a tremendous pleasure in seeing students become
interested, motivated and turned on to science.”
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