STEAM in Movies

Movies are a great example of how science, technology, engineering, arts, and maths come together. These movies can serve as an example of how STEAM applies to daily life, not only how STEAM is used behind the scenes!

Marvel Cinematic Universe

If you analyze your favorite superheroes, most of them came to be thanks to science, technology, engineering, arts, and math. Tony Stark survived thanks to smart engineering to prevent missile shards from reaching his heart. Captain America was born after a Super-Soldier serum that was made in a lab. Bruce Banner became Hulk due to high amounts of gamma radiation. 

No matter how you look at it, all the villains and superheroes of this universe got where they are thanks to STEAM-related issues. Genetics, technological advancements, serums… you name it, this saga has it!

Interstellar

“A team of explorers travel through a wormhole in space in an attempt to ensure humanity’s survival,” says IMDb. A movie about survival, but also about the negative impact humanity has had on the planet. I think this movie serves well to teach students about the pros and the cons of science and technology. It could be our demise, but also our salvation.

Big Hero 6 

With a class of kids aged 10 or younger, maybe a complicated movie such as “Interstellar” isn’t the wisest choice. In such a case, animated movies may be best. 

One example is Big Hero 6, a movie about a group of friends and the fluffy robot Baymax, and how they use robotics to save the world. With this movie, you can show the class how teamwork yields results, and how technology can be used to help others!

The Lego Movie

Again, animated movies can show students important STEAM connections! The Lego Movie shows how important planning can be in engineering, how important teamwork is, and how necessary constant change is always necessary. Additionally, it is a great example of how one person can be whatever they put their mindset to do.

Hidden Figures

Want to put a movie about women in STEAM? Then Hidden Figures is for your class. This movie is about the untold story of a team of African-American women who worked in NASA during the planning of astronaut John Glenn into orbit.  The team, composed of mathematicians Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson, face many hardships including being unrecognized for their hard work and racism in the workplace. 

A quote pulled from the movie to inspire: “Yes, they let women do some things at NASA, Mr. Johnson, and it’s not because we wear skirts. It’s because we wear glasses.”

For teaching girls about the importance of perseverance, and teaching them about female role models, Hidden Figures is a great choice. 

Dream Big: Engineering our World

However, if your classroom dynamics call for a documentary you should consider “Dream Big: Engineering our World”. This documentary “celebrates the human ingenuity behind engineering marvels” as described by IMDb. It can be an interactive documentary, where students can hypothesize about how things were engineered –for example, the Great Wall of China– and later find out if they were right or wrong. 

Due to being a historical documentary, it could also serve as an opportunity to explain how important engineering has been since ancient civilizations.

Spare Parts

Keeping up with movies based on true events, there is also the movie “Spare Parts”. This movie tells the story of how four Hispanic high school students form a robotics club and with limited resources build an underwater robot to go against MIT. I think this movie goes to show how important representation is. Most students that come from small schools such as the one portrayed in this movie don’t get an opportunity to dream big. They don’t have the resources, or their families support, and often leave their hopes aside to work after graduation. With a movie like this, you can show your class how it isn’t impossible to thrive and dream, even if you don’t come from the most prestigious schools.