Academics present educational films at University of Hertfordshire in Hatfield

By Alan Davies Tuesday, February 5, 2013
8:19 PM

A SERIES of educational films and documentaries aimed at promoting science, technology, engineering and maths will open in Hatfield this week.

Pina will be shown at one of the University of Hertfordshire educational screenings [Picture: Artificial Eye]

The season includes three movies chosen and presented by academics from the University of Hertfordshire, who specialise in the theme of the films being shown.

UHArts’ CineSTEM programme is aimed at schools, post-16 learners, and anyone with an interest in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) subject areas.

The season begins on Wednesday, February 6 with the Oscar-winning British documentary Man on Wire, chronicling Philippe Petit’s 1974 high-wire walk between the Twin Towers of New York’s World Trade Centre.

Professor Richard Wiseman, from the Hatfield-based university, will discuss the psychology behind Petit’s extraordinary feat.

The most followed British psychologist on Twitter, professor Wiseman is the author of several best-selling books, including The Luck Factor, Quirkology, and 59 Seconds.

His psychology-based YouTube videos have received more than 90 million views.

Two further screenings will follow. On March 15, Dr Philip Porter, from the Human and Environmental Sciences department, presents the Oscar-nominated documentary Chasing Ice.

And on April 25, Dr Peter Lovatt – aka Dr Dance from the department of psychology – presents Pina, a film about the late German choreographer Pina Bausch.

CineSTEM takes place at The Weston Auditorium, de Havilland Campus in Hatfield.

Admission is free and tickets can be ordered in advance from the UHArts Box Office on 01707 281127, or booked online at www.herts.ac.uk/artsandgalleries