AstroCappella Frequently Asked Questions
- Why can't I read the CD-ROM portion of the disk?
- The CD-ROM works on Macs and PCs. It has been tested on PCs under Windows 95/98/2000 and XP. On Macs, it has been tested under OS 8/9 and OS X. (In OS X, it works fine using Netscape. All pages except the index page work in other Mac OS X browsers such as IE, Safari, and Mozilla. We intend to fix this problem with our next pressing.) Some pointers to getting started can be found on the README file on the CD.
- Wasn't the AstroCappella CD originally free?
In 1997, the Chromatics won a grant from NASA to make a CD of 6 songs and a book
with activities for each song. Through that grant and additional grants, we made
10,000 copies of a six-song CD and the 36-page black and white booklet that went
with it. That CD was released in 1998 and it was given away free to educators
around the world. We ran out of grant money to make more CDs and all the original
disks and booklets were given away by November of 2000. The original product is
pictured at the right.
Unable to get another grant, but still very enthused about bringing astronomy to kids through music, the Chromatics decided to go ahead with our next AstroCappella project. We had gotten a lot of feedback from teachers requesting songs about the solar system, so we wrote 6 more songs and included a 7th song that we had recorded in the meantime about gamma-ray bursts. We recorded the new songs, pressed the CDs (now 13 songs), created the CD-ROM materials and the CD booklet (16-page glossy pullout) with The Chromatics' money. This is why we have to charge for this product. The new product is pictured below...
- For what age group is the AstroCappella 2.0 CD appropriate?
- With the addition of the solar system songs, the CD became appropriate for a younger audience. We have had positive comments from 4th grade teachers and college professors who have used it in their classes. Even if your students don't understand all the words to a song, they will pick up phrases and ideas and (hopefully) take those ideas with them until they learn the meanings of all the words. We know 10-year-olds who have memorized the songs even if they don't understand every word. There are activities that are written for elementary school students in grades 2-4, and some that require algebra. We hope we have provided a product that can be useful and inspiring in all grades.
- Questions about the songs, content or activities?
- Write us at
astrocap@astrocappella.com