6 STEM Family Films That Entertain and Inspire

In a previous article I explored ways you can help your child to grow up with a love of STEM. Picking a movie for family night has never been easy in our house -- finding a movie that appeals to everyone while avoiding inappropriate content can be quite challenging these days. To find a movie that is not only entertaining but also serves to inspire kids to get excited about STEM is a rare find, although they do exist.

In order for the movie to be family friendly, it had to be rated PG-13 or below. We have watched the following movies and each one has earned an unanimous thumbs up from all family members. Not only are they enjoyable to watch, each story line has embedded in it excitement about some aspect of STEM and working toward a goal. A great combination for motivating our kids to explore the possibilities of what they can do and be, and the kid that still resides in each of us older folks will find ourselves inspired as well.

Click the image below to start the slideshow. Roundup the kids and grab some popcorn -- and prepare to be inspired as you watch some great movies to stimulate a STEM way of thinking!

Do you have any favorite STEM-related flicks for the family? Share your top choices with us in the comments!

The Lego Movie is a natural choice for any STEM movie night -- what designer or engineer did not play with Legos as a kid? There is nothing much worse than stepping barefoot on one in the middle of the night that was left on the living room floor (I am speaking from experience), but giving your kids Legos also let’s you use your children as an excuse to grab those blocks for some creative building fun -- just another perk of parenthood. The Lego Movie capitalizes on the ingenuity and creativity that is possible with legos with situations that require what all engineers must do -- problem solve utilizing the resources one has available. Engineers, like their master builder counterparts, must often work under pressure and provide a solution out of necessity. The value of working as a team, to accomplish more than what could be accomplished working as individuals, is clearly shown. The movie itself is chock full of humor that will appeal to all ages on different levels -- good clean fun in a feel-good movie that encourages creativity and problem solving for both parents and kids.Rated PG, 2014, Directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller

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Nancy Golden started her electronics career at Dallas Semiconductor and moved to Optek Technology where she was a test engineer for several years, eventually moving up to test engineering manager. Nancy became especially experienced in hall effect characterization and test and also gained experience with photologics, LEDs, VCSELs, and fiber optic transmission. The first person to become a Certified TestPoint Application Specialist (CTAS) by Capital Equipment Corporation, she has done contract work for Hitachi and Andrews Corporation and control room software for NBC in Testpoint. Nancy owns a small business called Golden Technical Creations, a service oriented company that provides consulting, teaching, PIC programming, curriculum development and web design for its customers. Between engineering projects she writes fiction and nonfiction for different venues. You can learn more regarding her writing efforts at novelwrites . Nancy also owns a small business where she and her husband Phil, who is an electrical engineer, design trail obstacles for horses, which can be found at Golden Cross Ranch and she is an adjunct faculty member at Dallas Christian College.

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