How Star Wars can bring science to Earth-bound children

Luckily we don’t need to travel to a galaxy far, far away to use the Star Wars universe as a teaching tool. Here are three STEAM-themed ideas to get your little rebels exploring in some inspiring new directions.

How my kids developed a fascination for Star Wars without ever seeing a single movie in the series until recently was beyond me.

Although their fandom came with a force-like desire for licensed toys and merchandise, it also got me thinking about using the power of the pop culture phenomenon to home in on core concepts of STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math). And with Rey (above) and her fellow Resistance fighters battling it out in the latest film Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, now's a great time to inspire kids through movie magic.

Theresa Hegedus, dean of instructional leadership and innovation at Randolph-Macon Academy in Front Royal, Virginia, encourages parents and educators to use movies and TV shows as

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