Student Sings Science Project

Maggie Arias is on her way to becoming the next iTunes sensation. The Atlanta-area 6th Grader is not your typical pop princess though. She uses “thermosphere” in her song, Aurora, which pays tribute to the beauty and power of the Northern Lights.

When her teacher asked each student to become an expert on a science subject they studied last semester and teach the class, young Maggie chose the aurora borealis. She didn’t want to make a cardboard display or a power point presentation like the other students so she decided to make a song. Since her dad, Chris, is a professional musician, the two collaborated — daughter on science, dad on musicality — to make a hit that kids are downloading.

Maggie tells Fox5 in Atlanta her song “was talking about how big the aurora was and how beautiful it is and how there’s so many different colors. It would be so different if we didn’t have it.”

Her Dad says, “The thing that struck me is how this incredibly powerful cosmic event is turned into such a beautifully serene light show in the sky. If you thought for a second about our magnetic field being different or weaker than it is, yikes!”

To complete her assignment, though the student needed at least five paragraphs of information, including some important science.

Aurora

by Maggie & Chris Arias
Instrument Approach Music, Inc. / ASCAP, ©2011

Iʼm in Alaska
The sky is glowing
Without a sound

Energyʼs growing
Red and green oxygen

Blue and purple nitrogen
Aurora, you never know how much I adore yaʼ
My magnetic field of dreams
Making magic out of photon streams
Those endless nights in the northern lights
Aurora

Inside the beauty
More power than lightning
Intoxicating
It should be frightening

Red and green oxygen
Blue and purple nitrogen

Aurora, you never know how much I adore yaʼ
My magnetic field of dreams
Making magic out of photon streams
Those endless nights in the northern lights
Aurora

The thermosphere erupts in silence
Making beauty of cosmic violence
The sun assaults the skies
You dance before my eyes

You make me wish that I could fly
Aurora, you never know how much I adore yaʼ
My magnetic field of dreams
Making magic out of photon streams
Those endless nights in the northern lights
Aurora

The one idea Maggie wants to convey is that the power of the Northern Lights should not be underestimated. Her dad wrote some of the lyrics with her words ringing in his ears. She says, “20 million amps at 50,000 volts, dad! That’s BIG TIME ENERGY!!!!!!!!”

So they decided to make it a high energy song with a dance beat.

Maggie’s song is available at the iTunes store.
Here’s a preview.

Aurora by Maggie Rae [ 1:34 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download