Pinhead: Free Movie Screenings 3/2 & 3/3/2015

27 Feb Pinhead: Free Movie Screenings 3/2 & 3/3/2015

Pinhead Scholar hosting stop-motion animated features, with Q&A, at the Steaming Bean

Thanks to a guest from the non-profit organization’s “Scholars in the Schools” program, the Pinhead Institute is able to offer the community two special animated features: “ParaNorman” and “The Boxtrolls.”

The films come courtesy of LAIKA, a stop-motion animation studio based west of Portland, Ore., and Mark Shapiro, its head of marketing. Both films are rated PG and will be shown at 6:00 p.m. March 2 and March 3 respectively, at the Steaming Bean. A cash bar will be available.

“We stumbled across Mark at the Telluride Horror Show, and while not technically a scientist, he shares the joy of ‘making’ that drives Pinhead forward,” said executive director Sarah Holbrooke, referring to the tech-influenced, do-it-yourself culture known as the Maker Movement.

“Within one day we had brought him to a rapt audience of Telluride high schoolers and realized the community wanted to hear more from Mark,” she continued.

“ParaNorman” screens Monday, March 2, and “The Boxtrolls” on Tuesday., March 3, after which Shapiro will conduct a Q&As with the audience.

The screenings come at the close of Shapiro’s long days spent traversing the region, shining a light for students in Naturita, Norwood, Nucla, Ridgway, and Telluride about a fantasy world where science and art converge.

With production puppets in hand, Shapiro will walk students of all ages through the making of a LAIKA film, whose signature production techniques require its creators to have a fundamental understanding of the physics of movement.

“It’s a departure from what they would normally see in the making of [a film],” Shapiro said. “They are going to see science meet technology in a really creative way,” noting that stop-motion animation is representative of the burgeoning Maker Movement.

“The making of a LAIKA film is a labor of love, it’s a frame-by-frame process; we weave things together to create the illusion of movement,” Shapiro added.

“This is a vibrant way to get kids interested in science, technology and engineering so they will be motivated to make their own stop-motion animation films,” added Holbrooke.

Throughout the school year, Pinhead Institute brings internationally renowned scientists and other STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) scholars and experts into regional schools through its “Scholars in the Schools” program. These specialists lead presentations, labs, experiments, workshops, and field expeditions that enable children from our rural communities to interact with PhD scientists and other experts in fields including nanoscience, biochemistry, field biology, climatology and more.

“Only through STEM can things like 3D printing, which revolutionized stop-motion animation, take place,” said Holbrooke.

By the end of the current school year Pinhead will have placed more than 70 such scholars and experts in regional schools since its inception, demonstrating to more than 2,000 students real world applications of the scientific method. Ten scholars have been scheduled to visit regional schools this school year.

For more information about this event or Pinhead Institute programs please visit here or call 970-369-5190.

About Pinhead:

The Pinhead Institute is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and Smithsonian Affiliate based in Telluride, Colorado that educates and inspires children and adults in the greater Telluride region about the wonders of science and technology through engaging programs, direct interaction with scientists, and unique research-centered internship experiences.