Educational animation company Wonder Media is working with students and teachers from 17 different Pittsburgh-area school districts to create a new conservation-focused feature film that’s written, acted, animated and scored by the students themselves.
In Finding Stories of Wonder in the Land of Oz, Dorothy and her friends develop solutions to serious ecological problems that are based on real-life science and cutting-edge technology.
For example, in Elizabeth Forward School District’s film segment, Dorothy and the Tin Man encounter a native whose jungle is being destroyed, so they devise a plan based on actual science: using the Wizard’s drones to plant seeds, which will help the natives regrow their food and defend their home.
“I think every student has grown throughout this process. They all embraced their roles and rose to create projects that truly inspired me,” said Elizabeth Forward Director of Choirs and Media Studies Dr. Angie Berna Milliren, who will also lead her students in scoring the film.
Students in other districts are tackling equally important ecological topics, including:
- Deforestation (Deer Lakes School District)
- Drought Adaptations (Keystone Oaks School District)
- Forest Conservation (New Castle Area School District)
- Environmental Awareness and Community Resilience (Fox Chapel Area School District)
- Water Conservation (Beaver Area School District)
- Water Contamination and Controlling Runoff (South Allegheny School District)
“Our students must complete research to build their scene, which makes this project even more meaningful. They’re sharing experiences related to our scene, and seem genuinely concerned about contamination and pollution,” said South Allegheny Elementary STEAM Instructor Jennifer Rea.
New Castle Area 6th Grade Accelerated ELA/Science Teacher Kara Reider noted, “Our students now pay attention to their surroundings more than they have before. Not only is this project challenging their writing, it has also grabbed their attention in science and the natural world around them.”
Finding Stories of Wonder in the Land of Oz is being made by students using the Story Maker 3D-animation system from Wonder Media. The production will make its theatrical premiere in Pittsburgh in May 2025. The project is supported by The Grable Foundation.
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