The first offering of this course is in Winter 2025.

Welcome to Science in the Movies! This course is designed to help non-science majors and others fulfill a general education requirement while learning about Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences through the power of film. We will watch and analyze movies to describe natural phenomena and to review how scientists figure things out and solve problems. In particular, we will describe the role of scientists in mitigating natural disasters, solving environmental problems, and enabling space exploration. The cinematic treatment of these science topics will provide opportunities to distinguish between facts and exaggerations, develop information literacy, and sharpen critical thinking skills.

Current list of topics and movies:

• Gravity: Gravity (2013)
• Electromagnetism: The Dish (2000)
• Planetary interiors: The Core (2003)
• Planetary surfaces: The Martian (2015)
• Planetary atmospheres: The Day After Tomorrow (2004)
• Earthquakes: San Andreas (2015)
• Volcanism: Dante's Peak (1997)
• Impact hazard: Deep Impact (1998)
• Relativity: Interstellar (2014)
• Life in the universe: Contact (1997)

Instructional format: Lectures (2.5 hours/week) are supplemented with film clips, in-class demonstrations, active learning exercises, and weekly discussion sections (1 hour/week).

Grading: In-class quizzes about each movie (5%), Course evaluation (5%), Discussion section participation (20%), Homework (20%), Midterm exam (20%), Final exam (30%).

Syllabus: Here is a notional syllabus.