Here, at Mathnasium of Littleton, we love a good math movie. Movies in the “math genre” (okay, we totally made up that genre, but just go with it) include movies that focus on a mathematician and movies that have math as part of the story.
Our favorite family-friendly math movies are inspiring and based on true stories. We did our best to choose family-friendly movies, but please use your own judgement and the tools of www.commonsensemedia.org to decide what is appropriate for your children.
Hidden Figures - (PG) This movie tells the story of Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson. They were black women in the south in the 1940’s working at NASA as computers. They worked hard to break glass ceilings to achieve positions in white, male-dominated math fields. We recommend this film to everyone, especially girls and minorities.
Stand and Deliver - (PG) This movie is based on true story of a math teacher, Jaime Escalante, and his students. The kids were failing math but with hard work and a teacher who believed in them, they beat all the odds. They exemplified the concept of the growth mindset. We recommend this movie for middle school students and high school students who say they aren’t any good at math or that they hate math.
Moneyball - (PG-13) This movie shows how math can solve real problems. It is based on the true story of a major league baseball general manager. He changed the business of baseball by using the analytics of a mathematician. We recommend this movie for middle school students and high school students who don’t see math as useful.
The Theory of Everything - (PG-13) The famous cosmologist, Stephen Hawkins, persisted with his life and math-based science despite a debilitating disease. The movie shows his personal and professional triumphs while physically declining. We recommend this movie for middle school students and high school students who love math and science.
October Sky - (PG) This movie is based on a true story of a boy inspired by Sputnik to use math and science as his ticket to a better life. We recommend this movie for children who don’t see math and science as cool or fun.
Whether your kid loves math or needs a nudge in math, math movies and Mathnasium of Littleton, can be just the inspiration they need. Give us a call today 303-979-9077 and find out about our year-round and summer math programs!
Articles used in this post:
Mathematician Spotlight: Katherine G Johnson
Mathnasium of Littleton Encourages Girls & Young Women to Pursue STEM Opportunities
Mindset: Encouraging Mathematical Reasoning and Creativity
6 Ways for Accelerated and Advanced Math Students to Get Excited about Math Again
Summer fun at Mathnasium
This is copyright protected. Mathnasium of Littleton has permission to use it. Other Mathnasium locations should purchase it at http://hdwrite.com before using it.
