Arts Leadership Award Program

Representing Alameda County Supervisorial District Three —

Naru Kwina is a Rap Artist, Teacher and Founder of Alternative Minds Foundation and its Hip Learning program. Naru, who is also known as “Dr. Science,” was inspired by his students’ ability to remember and recite songs they heard on the radio, so he started to make Hip Hop songs about human anatomy to raise his students’ interest in science and to lock in the information he was exchanging during class time. The children were so successful in processing the information in song format that Naru decided to share Hip Learning with the general public. “Hip Science, the Human Body 101,” presented as an audio CD was released in 2005. Naru later wrote and performed in a full-length play titled “Hip Science, the Human Body 101 Live.” Hip Learning is now available for concerts and workshops, schools, festivals, and science centers. Naru expanded Hip Learning by creating a full color booklet to accompany the audio CD. Naru is currently working on creating a Hip Learning hands-on mobile science center and performance vehicle to travel directly to schools and neighborhoods in the Bay Area to continue to teach and inspire youth about science using Hip Hop. Naru Kwina lives in Oakland.