Cool down with free STEM movies at Theatre N this summer

Want to spend some hot August hours in a cool movie theater watching totally free STEM-related movies like “Big Hero 6,” “Frankenweenie” and “Spare Parts“?

The Dupont Experimental Station is sponsoring S.T.E.M. Goes to the Movies, a series of 10 films shown at Theatre N on Tuesday and Thursdays at various times. The series is geared toward both kids and adults, and showcases diversity in STEM fields.

“Tomorrow’s leaders in science, technology, engineering, and math need to first see what is possible for them in these careers, today,” said Alexa Dembek, chief technology and sustainability officer for DuPont, in a press statement. “By sponsoring this series of films, we hope to play a part in inspiring the next generation of STEM achievers. That is why we are proud to partner with Theatre N in our hometown of Wilmington.”

The Experimental Station, which was born in 1903 as a DuPont Company research lab, is the home Delaware Innovation Space (DIS), an incubator for Delaware science startups that launched in 2017 through a partnership between DuPont, the University of Delaware and the State of Delaware. 

The DIS First Fund program for science startups awards up to $75,000 in funding to young startups in the areas of healthcare, industrial biotechnology, advanced materials, nutrition, renewable energy and chemical ingredients. In April, DIS was awarded $3 million from the National Development Council to continue its programs for science-focused startups.

S.T.E.M. Goes to the Movies kicked off Tuesday, July 30, at 10:30 a.m. with a screening of “Red Tails,” about African American pilots in the Tuskegee training program. (Missed it? You can rent it on Prime Video, iTunes and YouTube).

Here is the full schedule, including descriptions provided by a City of Wilmington press release:

• Tuesday, July 30: Red Tails (2012) Rated PG-13
  10:30 a.m.
  A crew of African American pilots in the Tuskegee training program, having faced segregation while kept mostly on the ground during WWII, are called into duty under the guidance of Col. A.J. Bullard.
• Thursday, August 1: Imitation Game (2014) Rated PG-13
  6:30 p.m.
  During WWII, the English mathematical genius Alan Turing tries to crack the German Enigma code with help from fellow mathematicians.
• Tuesday, August 6: Dream Big: Engineering Our World (2017) Not Rated
  10:00 a.m.
  A documentary about how engineers are responsible for important technological innovations. The film highlights working engineers from different backgrounds. Ages 7 and up.
• Thursday, August 8: Me & Isaac Newton (1999) Not Rated
  4:00 p.m.
  Seven of today’s top scientist/researchers are the subject of this humorous exploration of real people behind the white lab coats; more about what makes them tick than what they have accomplished per se.
• Tuesday, August 13: Spare Parts (2015) Rated PG-13
  2:00 p.m.
  Four Hispanic high school students form a robotics club. With no experience, 800 bucks, used car parts and a dream, this ragtag team goes up against the country’s reigning robotics champion, MIT.
• Thursday, August 15: Big Hero 6 (2014) Rated PG
  11:00 a.m.
  This is the story about the special bond that develops between plus-size inflatable robot Baymax, and prodigy Hiro Hamada, who team up with a group of friends to form a band of high-tech heroes.
• Tuesday, August 20: Code: Debugging the Gender Gap (2015) Not Rated
  6:30 p.m.
  This documentary exposes the dearth of American female and minority software engineers and explores the reasons for this gender gap and digital divide.
• Thursday, August 22: The Man Who Knew Infinity (2015) Rated PG-13
  10:30 a.m.
  The story of the life and academic career of the pioneer Indian mathematician, Srinivasa Ramanjan, and his friendship with his mentor, Professor G.H. Hardy.
• Tuesday, August 27: Frankenweenie (2012) Rated PG
  1:00 p.m.
  When a boy’s beloved dog passes away suddenly, he attempts to bring the animal back to life through a powerful science experiment.
• Thursday, August 29: Tomorrowland (2015) Rated PG
  11:00 a.m.
  Bound by a shared destiny, a teen bursting with scientific curiosity and a former boy-genius inventor embark on a mission to unearth the secrets of a place somewhere in time and space that exists in their collective memory.