Diane Raver and Dr. Jim Simon watch the short science film, “Biting Back: The Life Saving Potential of Catnip,” directed by SAS student Or Doni and SOE student Emily Schneider, in the Immersive Learning through Science Storytelling Lab. Photo: Sean Feuer.
The Immersive Learning through Science Storytelling Lab, developed by SEBS scientists, science storytellers, STEM learning researchers and youth educators, has been awarded the Broader Vision Award by the Garden State Film Festival.
In early January, Diane Raver, founder of the Garden State Film Festival and Executive Director of the New Jersey Film Academy, came to the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences to inform Distinguished Professor Jim Simon of the award. Each year, the Garden State Film Festival identifies an organization dedicated to using the art of filmmaking for the greater good as the recipient of its Broader Vision Award. Ms. Raver and Dr. Simon spent the afternoon in the Immersive Learning through Science Storytelling Lab meeting with students and viewing their student co-authored science films, Biting Back: The Lifesaving Potential of Catnip, Stories from the Marsh, Mysteries of 9° North and The Farmers of Micronesia.
“We are so proud to present this award to Rutgers University’s Immersive Learning through Science Storytelling Lab whose good work builds professional science storytellers dedicated to producing films that accurately communicate critically important science through beautiful and exciting documentary film narratives,” said Diane Raver. “This interdisciplinary lab is creatively engaging students to tell these important stories, building future science film leaders whose stories will increase environmental and climate change awareness throughout New Jersey and beyond.”
Shaniya Utamidata, Ecology and Evolution master’s degree student, shares her edit of “Stories from the Marsh,” a 30-minute science-in-action film in development featuring the Rutgers University Marine Field Station, with Diane Raver and Dena Seidel. Photo: Sean Feuer.
The storytelling lab was created as part of a collaboration between SEBS plant and marine scientists who take seriously their obligation to broaden participation in STEM and impactfully communicate their federally funded science to the public. Dr. Jim Simon, Department of Plant Biology, and Dr. Oscar Schofield, Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences, have been collaborating with science filmmaker and cultural anthropologist Dena Seidel, a SEBS science communication researcher, since 2010. Current science film stories in development, co-created by Rutgers students and supervised by Seidel, feature scientists responding to the impacts of climate change to develop resilient food crops, fight insect borne diseases, measure New Jersey’s changing estuaries and fisheries and study life in extreme, deep-sea environments.
Dr. Xenia Morin has been collaborating with Seidel since 2014 measuring the STEM learning impact of science-in-action films on participating students and audiences and supporting undergraduates’ independent research through storytelling. In 2020, Marissa Staffen, SEBS 4-H educator, joined the team to expand the reach of participating students to include high school youth from underrepresented communities. The storytelling lab’s collaborators now lead the USDA funded STEM learning through storytelling FAME afterschool program that will bring more than 100 high school students to SEBS over four years as part of a unique curriculum designed to increase STEM literacy and belonging for participating youth.
Rutgers alumni Don and Penny Pray chose to support the storytelling lab after seeing the 30-minute science-in-action film, Fields of Devotion, directed by Seidel. Rutgers President Jonathan Holloway recognized Fields of Devotion in his 2023 Stakeholders Address as the Rutgers-made documentary giving voice to New Jersey farmers whose crops are ravaged by climate change-borne diseases and “encouraging farmers and scientists to work more closely together to benefit New Jersey agriculture.”
“When we learned of the many successful science-in-action films Dena produced with students that feature Rutgers research, including Antarctic Edge: 70° South, Atlantic Crossing: A Robot’s Daring Mission, Thailand Untapped: The Global Reach of Engineers without Borders, The War After and Generation at Risk, we realized that our support for her work would positively impact students, scientists, the university, Rutgers alumni and the public all at once,” said Penny Pray. “Communicating Rutgers research through science-in-action films is one of the most effective ways to include everyone in science learning, especially those who may feel they don’t belong in science, while encouraging more students/children/alumni to explore these important subjects.”
Erin Quinn, recent graduate of Dr. Simon’s plant biology program, shares a science-in-action film about Micronesian breadfruit farmers that she created as part of her food security research. Photo: Sean Feuer.
“Our storytelling lab allows us to welcome and support students new to science as well as those interested in experiencing new science disciplines.” Seidel said. “As a STEM learning research lab, we are developing innovative and experiential methods for our students to learn through the co-creation of authentic sciences stories made in trusting partnership with scientists while providing the opportunity for our students to be recognized as respected members of real-world science teams.”
“We embed this immersive learning through storytelling approach in all our science projects as we find it benefits not only scientists but students, providing an effective way for them to understand our research processes and welcome them into our research.” Simon says
This year, the Garden State Film Festival will be presenting two film stories produced in this lab, including “Biting Back: The Life Saving Potential of Catnip” by School of Arts and Sciences student Or Doni and School of Engineering student Emily Schneider, and the trailer for “Mysteries of 9° North”, a one-hour science-in-action film directed by Dena Seidel and co-created by Colby Koutrakos, Ben Lerner, Bella Burnworth, Zolani Kizito, Brenden Henley, Erin Cabanato, LiYuan Byrne, Jack Greenberg and Colin Sabol. Both films will screen on Sunday March 30 at Asbury Hall, Asbury Hotel, at 11:30 am. For tickets, visit www.gsff.org.
