Sing a Song of Science (video) Kevin Ahern, a bio-chemistry professor at Oregon State University, uses song to help his classes to learn complicated science data. Now he teaches a class, "Sing a Song of Science," that teaches honors students how to do the same. Watch video On Tuesday afternoons in a small upstairs classroom, Kevin Ahern blows the stiff-collared stereotype of science academia to bits.

Ahern, a biochemistry instructor and director of undergraduate research at Oregon State University, doesn't consider it disruptive to break out in song during class. On the contrary, the songs become the subject matter on Tuesdays, when he teaches the class "Sing a Song of Science" to a dozen honors students. Limericks

"Music brings back memories," he tells the group of future veterinarians, philosophers and doctors before pressing play on a recording of the Alphabet Song.

All the students smile in recognition.

"See, that's literally how 95 percent of kids in this country learn their ABCs," Ahern says. "I took a little different direction."

He presses play again, and a new version of the song begins. Instead of the letters of the alphabet, they hear a ditty that lists amino acids.

Lysine, arginine and his Basic ones you should not miss Ala, leu, val, ile and met Fill the aliphatic set

These are honors students at a major university, and they're singing along to a re-imagined children's song.

It's not a typical scenario for an advanced biochemistry course, but Ahern is not your typical biochemistry professor. The nutty professor

Ahern, a self-described nerd, doesn't limit his quirkiness to science. He's a real-life nutty professor known for his creative streak and is just as comfortable with the dry language of science as he is with the melody and cadence of a '60s pop song.

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OSU professor teaches biochemistry with limericks and song