Press Release: 25th June 2010

It's a RAP!

Science Photo Library Teams up With a Rapper for a Better View of its Motion Collection

Left: Contracting and dilating pupil, AMMONITE/SPL
Centre: Animation of the brain, ROGER HARRIS/SPL
Right: Golden eagle in flight, BRITISH TECHNICAL FILMS/SPL

The world's leading specialist image agency Science Photo Library (see note 1) has released rap video 'A Better View' together with Associate Lecturer and Musician Jonathan Chase (see note 2) in a bid to boost school children's interest in science - a subject often seen as dull. To view the rap video, please visit www.youtube.com/splmotion.

'A Better View' is available at no extra cost as part of Science Photo Library's 'Schools Subscription' package, which allows teachers to use SPL's image and video content in classrooms. For the first time, Science Photo Library gives schools unlimited access to its collection for a minimal licensing fee.

Science Photo Library's Managing Director Giancarlo Zuccotto says: "Being aware of the pressures many teachers face today with limited resources, we are delighted to offer schools a highly cost-effective way to access our vast and up-to-date imagery which covers most of the areas in the UK curriculum."

In 'A Better View', Science Photo Library uses some of its stunning video clips to show how moving images can aid understanding in science and make the complicated seem simple. The company teamed up with Jonathan Chase, an Associate Lecturer in Science Communication at the University of Glamorgan, who has previously worked with the BBC, NASA, The Royal Society and The Science Museum in London.

Jonathan Chase says: "I started my career as a Science Rapper mainly by coincidence. When I was growing up I used to DJ, but when I started studying science, my lyrics just naturally evolved around the topic. One day I showed my professor a verse I'd done, and he thought it was good and informed a lady from NASA. She asked me to do a rap for their Astrobiology magazine, and now I continue to search out similar opportunities."

Science Photo Library's Motion Content Editor Alison Somerville says: "We were excited to work with Jonathan, and are always on the lookout for new ways to popularise science and show our footage in a relevant and engaging way. We wanted to give educators something a bit different that captures pupils' attention and shows how the science they learn is related to the world around us."