Feb 28 2009
Students, faculty, and staff at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute today saw a sneak preview of the new Molecularium IMAX production, Molecules to the MAX.
Watch the movie trailer!
The animated 40-minute movie, set for worldwide distribution later this year, follows the adventures of Oxy, Hydro, Hydra, and Carbón as they navigate the nanoscale landscapes of everyday items including snowflakes, coins, and plastic toys. Produced by Rensselaer, funded by Trustee Curtis Priem ’82, and supported in part by the U.S. National Science Foundation, Molecules to the MAX aims to boost national and global science literacy through the use of story, song, subtlety, and fun.
The movie will be released in 2009 to IMAX, IMAX 3-D, and other giant-screen theaters. Plans are under way for national and Capital Region premieres later this year.
“To better prepare the next generation of innovators to face myriad looming global challenges, it is imperative that we encourage young people to pursue careers in the sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics,” said Rensselaer President Shirley Ann Jackson. “Championed by the Rensselaer Nanotechnology Center and Trustee Curtis Priem, the Molecularium project and this new movie are powerful platforms through which we can instill a healthy scientific curiosity in people of all ages.”
“The goal of Molecularium and Molecules to the MAX is to make technology fun at the very youngest ages,” said Priem, co-founder of leading visual computing technologies company NVIDIA, who made possible Molecules to the MAX through a generous gift. “We want to see elementary school children pull the education system along by asking their teachers about nanotechnology and string theory, instead of those students having to wait until college to learn about such topics.”
“Molecularium has the ability to introduce children to the nanoscale concepts at the atomic and molecular levels through exciting films and music while using rigorous concepts and molecular modeling simulations,” said Mihail C. Roco, NSF Senior Advisor for Nanotechnology and director of the NSF National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI). “Making these relatively complex concepts accessible and fun encourages children to explore and continue to learn about amazing discoveries at the nanoscale, and what engineers may do with them. Easy conversations open a window to a scientific curiosity that may last for a life.”
Rensselaer professors Richard W. Siegel, Linda Schadler, and Shekhar Garde are executive producers of Molecules to the MAX. Toronto-based SK Films is distributing the film. The production studio behind the movie is Nanotoon Entertainment, which is currently located on Rensselaer’s campus. Nanotoon’s V. Owen Bush is writer/director of Molecules to the MAX, and Kurt Przybilla is the film’s writer/producer. Chris Harvey is the movie’s art director/production designer. Many current and former Nanotoon employees are students and graduates of Rensselaer.
“The sneak preview was a way for us to say ‘Thank you’ to everyone at Rensselaer who, directly or indirectly, has worked on or supported the making of Molecules to the MAX,” said Siegel, who leads the effort and is director of the Rensselaer Nanotechnology Center. “This exciting new movie, made right here on campus with valuable contributions from many different students, faculty, and staff, will be shown all over the world with Rensselaer’s name on it. That’s something of which we should all be proud.”
For more information on Molecules to the MAX and the Molecularium project, visit: www.molecularium.com.