ASCE Dream Big Field Trip – Angeles Mesa Elementary School
The IMAX movie, Dream Big, celebrates engineering and inspires future engineers as well as motivates current engineers by highlighting impressive engineering projects, intimately describing the backgrounds of four engineers, as well as displaying the tenacity and relentlessness of two engineering competition teams. The movie makes engineering magical and its visually stunning images and use of 3D brings out the joy in its viewers. The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Los Angeles Young Members Forum (YMF) was awarded with a Dream Big Grant to be used towards promoting the Dream Big IMAX film played in select IMAX theaters across the United States. ASCE LA YMF set a goal to use these funds towards transportation to the California Science Center (CSC) IMAX theater for inner city elementary schools. In partnership with MacGillivray Freeman Films, ASCE LA YMF was able to provide a completely free field trip for Angeles Mesa Elementary School where MacGillivray Freeman Films provided 400 free Dream Big IMAX tickets and ASCE LA YMF funded the buses for the 400 students, faculty and chaperones. Angeles Mesa Elementary School is a Title 1 or Tier 1 elementary school and this opportunity was very special to them because in the 2017/2018 school year, they will begin their magnet program emphasizing their curriculum in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). A coincidence that even more highlighted the perfect timing of the free Dream Big Field Trip on May 17, 2017 is that Angeles Mesa’s magnet school is to be called Dreams Magnet.
Monica Morales, the Dream Big Committee Chair for ASCE LA YMF, met with the Angeles Mesa Elementary School on May 17, 2017 for their free Dream Big Field Trip and Angeles Mesa’s 400-person appearance filled the CSC rotunda between the IMAX entrance and Museum entrance with pure excitement! In gratitude for the field trip, Angeles Mesa presented MacGillivray Freeman Films and ASCE LA YMF with thank you plaques and colorful cards the children made. Board representatives from Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) also appeared to show their support for Angeles Mesa’s Dreams Magnet program. Nina Burch, the counselor for Angeles Mesa Elementary School, was a prominent key to making this field trip happen in that she received the information from Monica Morales and swiftly made sure the principal and vice principal were on board. Monica Morales organized the event complete with a tour of the California Science Center general Museum, a special tour of the Endeavor Shuttle exhibit, lunch, and topping off the day with the Dream Big IMAX movie. Filling the IMAX Theater with 400 Angeles Mesa Elementary School students, faculty and chaperones was an incredibly special experience especially when the school chanted its school anthem complete with “And we are engineers!” The children ooo’d and awww’d throughout the movie and once the credits started rolling, everyone applauded the Dream Big IMAX movie and were ready to embark on their own engineering discoveries!
Photos of the Event:
