Maker Camp Singalong

Music
Maker Camp Singalong
Commander Chris Hadfield grabs his guitar in a unique cover of David Bowie's "Space Oddity"
Commander Chris Hadfield flew over to his guitar in zero G as he performed a unique cover of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” aboard the International Space Station

Grab your guitar and gather around the Maker Camp campfire. Or blast your favorite maker sing-along ditties while you build your Maker Camp projects during DIY Music week. We have pulled together our favorite songs for kids of all ages in which you can belt out your love for all things “maker” or celebrate your being the unique, inventive, and imaginative person that brought you to Maker Camp!

Our recommended playlist includes:

    • “This Too Shall Pass” by OK Go (while the lyrics aren’t explicitly about making, the sentiment is a useful rule of thumb for makers, and both the original and the Rube Goldberg-inspired versions of the videos are tremendous, as are all their videos! Check out OK Go’s Damian Kulash playing a MaKey MaKey on Monday’s Maker Camp if you missed him.)
    • The Elements” by Tom Lehrer

    • The NeverEnding Story theme

    • Knitting Song” by Fraggle Rock’s Doozers

    • Yellow Submarine” by The Beatles (sing while making the boat projects, or any underwater ROVs)

    • Space Oddity” by David Bowie (The version brilliantly recorded by Commander Chris Hadfield of Canada on board the International Space Station is no longer available. He had a one-year deal on the copyright from Bowie, which expired mid-May 2014. Maybe they’ll work something out in the future, but as of early July it lives on only as other parodies or illegal re-posts.)

    • “SkyMall”, “Code Monkey”, “Shop Vac,” “I’m Your Moon”, and more by geek rock icon Jonathan Coulton

    • The Big Bang Theory theme song and others by The Barenaked Ladies

singalongkidsclassics

    • “Science Is Real,” “Meet the Elements”, “The Bloodmobile,” etc. by They Might Be Giants

    • Schoolhouse Rock! classics
      • “Three Is a Magic Number”

      • “Electricity, Electricity”

      • “Mother Necessity”

    • Disney classics

    • MakerCampSongbookTraditional classics (get these lyrics in our Maker Camp Songbook)

      • “Daisy Bell” (as sung by HAL in 2001: A Space Odyssey, it mentions planting, bicycling, and lights)

      • “This Little Light of Mine” (to be sung by the glow of LEDs?)

      • “This Land is Your Land” reminds us that this land was made for you and me!

      • “Hole in My Bucket” runs through different tools and solutions to fixing the hole.

      • “Mama Don’t Allow” features many fun instruments that Mama really should allow!

      • “Scarborough Fair” has herbs, sewing and other industry, and water conversation all in one.

      • “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad”: who doesn’t love a train song?

    • These three from Adafruit’s longer post (adafruit.com/blog/2009/04/14/songs-for-making-things)

      • “We Built This City” by Jefferson Airplane

      • “If I Had A Hammer” by Peter, Paul and Mary

      • “Electricity” by Elton John

Add your requests to our jukebox by suggesting songs in the comments below!

Discuss this article with the rest of the community on our Discord server!
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Michelle, or Binka, makes . While at Maker Media, she oversaw publications, outreach, and programming for kids, families, and schools. Before joining Maker Media in 2007, she worked at the Exploratorium, in Mitchel Resnick’s Lifelong Kindergarten group at the MIT Media Lab, and as a curriculum designer for various publishers and educational researchers. When she’s not supporting future makers, including her two young sons, Binka does some making of her own, most often as a visual artist.

View more articles by Michelle "Binka" Hlubinka

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