STEM is one of the sectors that has seen rapid growth over the years and students all across are being encouraged to align their education pursuits with it, but who could’ve known a good movie is all it takes to truly solidify these ideals? Fifty-two beneficiaries from the non-profit organisations, Talking through Art and Gisimba Memorial Foundation, between the ages of 11 and 16 have been chosen to watch a ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ screening at the Canal Olympia cinema. According to Kenyah Nyameche who served as a facilitator for the event, the screening was fully intent on fostering a further understanding of STEM by portraying it in practice, which the movie’s character, Shuri, depicts adequately. Nyameche in addition shared that the idea was initially derived from a similar project put together by the American foundation, Leila’s Promise, and was inspired to recreate the project in a different setting. Despite themes like honour, duty, and grief stealing the show, students were able to identify the STEM skills also portrayed and that’s what resonated with them the most. Some of the children were adamant to pursue careers in that field of work, and quite a number of them showed interest in re-creating the high-tech defence equipment in the movie to ensure their country’s safety. Takeaways from the experience Discussions the students engaged in after the movie revealed that witnessing how STEM-themed solutions fixed the real (somewhat fictional) situations in the movie played a significant role in embedding the relevance of STEM education in their perspective. Daniella Impunga, a member of Canal Olympia’s technical team, spoke to the students about her field of work and encouraged them to pursue their dreams, emphasising that nobody should ever stand between one’s dreams and themselves, a message she directed especially to the girls. The students were fairly pleased with the painting activities they engaged in prior to the movie and have expressed how much more effective it is to watch something happen, as opposed to listening to teachers talk theoretically about it, further emphasising that visual storytelling just might be the saving grace education systems have been yearning for all along.
