Davisburg students celebrate 'the land down under'

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Harper demonstrates how to pla...

DAVISBURG, Michigan – As part of their annual Parent Teacher Connection-sponsored Culture Festival, students of Davisburg Elementary School took part in a day filled with the music, food and cultural influences of Australia.

Students learned first-hand from Australian-born singer/songwriter Harper as he and his band shared their knowledge of the didgeridoo, an Aboriginal musical instrument and its role in Aboriginal dance, music, art and culture.

“Does anybody know how the Didgeridoo is made?” Harper asked his young audience. With no takers, Harper went onto explain that termites do most of the work in hallowing out the long wooden pipe that makes up the instrument.

During Harper’s presentation, students watched and listed as he brought several Australian animals to life through the didgeridoo including the dingo, the kookaburra, the kangaroo and the emu.

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Students had the chance to make their own didgeridoo during one of the day’s workshops, painting Aboriginal designs and Australian animals on plastic pipes.

In addition to the music and crafts, kids had the chance to sample several different traditional Australian foods throughout the day.