GEMS Dream Big Back to School Field Trip
On Friday, September 1, 2017, approximately 60 middle school girls and teachers of the Girls Excelling in Mathematics and Science (GEMS) program from the United Way of the Inland Valleys came out to the California Science Center (CSC) to see Dream Big in IMAX 3D and explore the CSC Museum and Endeavor Shuttle Exhibit! MacGillivray Freeman Films sponsored their tickets and Monica Morales of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Los Angeles Younger Member Forum (YMF) and Emily Mantilla of the ASCE San Bernardino and Riverside Younger Member Forum (SB/R YMF) helped organize the event. Emily Mantilla reached out and found some passionate students and teachers to utilize the free Dream Big IMAX tickets with the help of Jennifer Thorton, the GEMS Program Associate, and Monica Morales arranged for free Dream Big IMAX tickets and greeted the middle school girls when they arrived at the CSC.
It was a hot morning and the GEMS were ready to get inside the air-conditioned IMAX theater, but we made sure to get some group shots first before the theater opened up! The GEMS loved the movie and were inspired by the engineers and how they could possibly help people by designing infrastructure to keep people safe, healthy and happy! Some of the teachers even came back to the CSC to see the Dream Big movie again for its last screening with their families over Labor Day weekend and bumped into Monica Morales who was doing the same! Dream Big is all about inspiring future generations of engineers by tapping into the human side of engineering while showing off how beautiful and fun infrastructure can be with its wonderful cinematography. The movie also taps into the hearts of students and professionals in engineering by reestablishing why they chose their careers and gives them that extra passionate burst to go to work the next day with a little more pep in their steps. It truly is a movie that all ages can appreciate whether left-brained or right-brained and even more perfect for those that are both! The GEMS are excited about the school year and participating in more events with ASCE such as Engineers Week 2018!
