STEM at home

Hidden Figures

by 20th Century Fox

Ages: 8+ years

Hidden Figures tells the true story of Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson — three Black women whose mathematical brilliance helped launch John Glenn into orbit and quietly changed the course of the Space Race. It's a story about what happens when talent refuses to be ignored.

Why we like it: It puts faces on STEM history that kids rarely see — and opens up real conversation about who gets credit and why.

Dream Big: Engineering Our World

by MacGillivray Freeman Films

Ages: 7+ years

Dream Big is an IMAX documentary that takes the question "how did they build that?" and turns it into something genuinely cinematic — from the Great Wall of China to underwater robots to cities designed to sustain themselves. Narrated by Jeff Bridges, it's the kind of film that makes your child look at the built world differently on the drive home.

Why we like it: Engineering becomes wonder. That shift — from "that's impressive" to "I want to understand how" — is exactly what we're after.

The Lorax

by Dr Seuss

Ages: 3+ years

A beloved fable about what happens when industrial progress goes unchecked — and what it takes to reverse it. At its heart, it's an environmental science story: ecosystems, deforestation, pollution, and the fragile chain of cause and effect that connects them. The picture book delivers it in Seuss's unmistakable rhyme; the animated film gives it color, music, and scale. Both are widely available and work beautifully together.

Awards: #1 New York Times Bestseller | Caldecott Honors | Pulitzer Prize

Why we like it: Few resources open up conversations about sustainability, ecosystems, and civic responsibility this naturally — or this early. The "UNLESS" at the end is one of the most quietly powerful calls to action in children's literature, and it lands just as hard on screen as it does on the page. Read it, watch it, talk about it.