OBSERVER @ Avalon Theatre

Sarah Goodwin, PhD, Executive Director of the Science Communication Lab as well as Executive Producer of OBSERVER and series host Jason Dick, Editor in Chief of Roll Call, discuss why simple observation of natural phenomenon is so important and how it can lead to a deeper understanding of not just the subject matter but the people, culture and broader world around it.

About the Film: In OBSERVER, filmmaker Ian Cheney embarks on an experiment in which he brings a series of keen-eyed observers – scientists, artists, a hunter – to a range of locations around the world, often without telling them where they are going, and asks them simply to describe what they see. What unfolds is a deep exploration and celebration of the power of observation: what happens when you find new ways to sense and perceive the world around you? With customary whimsy and a small painted red square that Cheney brings on every journey, the film is an invitation to viewers to find beauty and meaning in even the most quotidian of locales.

ONE SHOW ONLY! Wednesday, December 3 @ 7:30PM in Avalon 1

About the Speakers:

Sarah Goodwin, PhD, is the Executive Director of the Science Communication Lab, where she has worked with hundreds of scientists from around the world to produce videos, short films, and feature documentaries to demystify the nature of science and illuminate the many personalities and backgrounds of scientists. Under Goodwin’s leadership, the SCL has grown into a multi-faceted collaboration between scientists, filmmakers, educators, and researchers. Goodwin was a Producer and the lead science advisor on the SCL’s Emmy-nominated and award-winning documentary, HUMAN NATURE. In 2023, Goodwin received a top award from the National Academies Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications. Goodwin received her PhD in Cell Biology from the University of California, San Francisco.

Jason Dick is the editor in chief of CQ Roll Call and the host of its Political Theater podcast.He has also worked at National Journal and for the AmeriCorps program, and is a former English teacher at the university and high school levels. A one-time screener for the SXSW Film Festival, he is a native of Arizona and lives on Capitol Hill.

Science on Screen® launched at the Coolidge Corner Theatre in Brookline, MA in 2005. In partnership with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and its pioneering nationwide film program, the Coolidge has expanded Science on Screen to 122 cinemas nationwide. Throughout the academic year, SoS creatively pairs screenings of classic, cult, science fiction, and documentary films with lively presentations by notable experts from the world of science and technology. Each film is used as a jumping-off point for a speaker to introduce current research or technological advances in a manner that engages popular culture audiences—enhancing film and scientific literacy through film.

Heading to NABT 2025? Stop by Booth #134 and attend one of our sessions on Fri & Sat to learn about our free NGSS aligned lessons & discover new opportunities to join the SCL Ambassador community!

Stop by Booth #134 to explore our classroom-tested resources and meet this year’s SCL Ambassadors, who will be sharing how they’ve brought award-winning films and personal science stories into their classrooms.

Then, join our sessions on Friday 10/31 and Saturday 11/1 mornings to learn how science storytelling can transform your classroom:

Friday, October 31 @ 10:30–11:45 AM | Rm: Midway Suite 6

Science Stories That Stick: Integrating Films and Multimedia in the Classroom

• Minu Basu, Dougherty Valley High School in San Ramon, CA
• Rebecca Brewer, Troy High School in Troy, MI
• Christine Girtain, Toms River Regional Schools in Toms River, NJ

Saturday, November 1 @ 9:00–10:15 AM | Rm: Grand A

Observation as a Superpower: A Workshop to Inspire Curiosity, Inquiry, and Critical Thinking in Your Students

• Shannon Behrman, Senior Director Science Communication Lab
• Lee Meadows, Ambassador Cohort Lead, Science Communication Lab
• Rosa Veguilla, Senior Director Science Communication Lab

Saturday, November 1 @ 10:30–11:00 AM | Rm: Grand A

Lesson Plan Demo: HS Educators Use Free Videos to Seed 3D Learning

• Renee Haines, North Hagerstown High School in Hagerstown, Maryland
• Dan Vanden Heuvel, Wood River High School in Hailey, ID

How can observation spark scientific curiosity—and wonder?

Join the Science Communication Lab at the Bay Area Science Festival for Hidden in Plain Sight: Finding Wonder Through Observation.

We’ll begin with a short excerpt from Observer, a documentary film exploring how scientists and artists see the world, followed by a guided outdoor activity that helps participants slow down, look closer, and find the extraordinary in the everyday.

📍Mission Bay Conference Center, San Francisco
🗓️ Sat, Oct 25 | 1:45–2:45 PM
🎟️ Free and open to all ages!

OBSERVER will open the 18th annual Science New Wave Festival on October 17, 2025 at 7 pm followed by a reception in the DCTV Firehouse Lobby.

What do we see when we look at the world around us? In a playful investigation into how we perceive our surroundings, director Ian Cheney scoops up various uniquely observant individuals, be they scientists, artists, or others, and tasks them to describe what they encounter, at home or far abroad. Constructed as a globe-trotting adventure in eight chapters, OBSERVER takes in all the surfaces of things, in alluring detail, to get at the deeper philosophical questions and urgently timely concerns that describe our shifting place on Earth.

Join us for what VARIETY calls “a thought-provoking journey into the simple but transformative act of observing.”

We’re excited to share that during Climate Week NYC, we’ll be screening our new film OBSERVER as part of a special collaboration with the New York Climate Exchange and Stony Brook University.

This free event is more than just a film screening—it’s a chance to connect with each other and the world around us. After the film, we’ll explore Governor’s Island with observation activities, and host a panel and conversation on filmmaking, science communication, and how we can all reconnect with nature in a time of change. 

SCL Executive Director, Sarah Goodwin, and Senior Producer, Meredith DeSalazar will be there to share behind the scenes insights and take your questions about science communication, filmmaking, and the art of noticing.

Explore how storytelling and observation—through an immersive workshop with the film OBSERVER—can spark curiosity in your students… and you!

Step away from the daily rush and rediscover the joy of looking closely.

Join fellow K–12 educators for a free, immersive professional development workshop centered on one of science’s most fundamental practices: observation. This interactive event features an exclusive screening of OBSERVER—our new documentary that follows scientists, artists, and other curious minds as they explore and interpret the world around them.

After the film, you’ll dive into creative, hands-on activities inspired by the film. Using simple everyday tools, you’ll practice the same observational strategies you can bring back to your students—encouraging deeper thinking, inquiry, and curiosity in your classroom.

Whether you teach elementary, middle or high school science, this day is designed to spark new ideas, build community, and reignite your love for discovery.

Limited availability, RSVP required for entry. Food and beverages provided.

RSVP to Attend

Facilitated by:

Claudia Scharff, a veteran San Francisco USD teacher and professional development facilitator, and team members from the Science Communication Lab.

Expected outcomes:

• New creative ideas for your lesson plans on observation and other science-related activities.
• A local community of K-12 teachers who could be your future mentors, mentees, and/or colleagues.
• Free resources and tools to inspire critical thinking and innovation in your classroom!

Come experience how a shift in perspective can open up a universe of learning possibilities—for you and your students!

Check out the trailer below for the film we’ll be screening 👇

About the Facilitator:

Claudia Scharff has served for 11 years as a teacher on special assignment for SFUSD, supporting all elementary school teachers in science. She was a Spanish bilingual science resource teacher and a third through fifth grade teacher at Alvarado for eight years. She co-lead a 4th and 5th grade girls science club with UCSF scientists and the support of the Science and Health Education Partnership (SEP) for three years and taught City Science to third grade teachers. Claudia was a coordinator at SEP for five years and particularly enjoyed working with teachers and scientists to address the needs of English Language Learners through science, as well as working with high school interns placed in UCSF science labs. She thinks that hands-on science and engineering investigations make the best springboard for developing language and math. There is no better way to get an otherwise shy child to talk, or an otherwise active child to focus, than to observe how a snail behaves when faced with an obstacle, or what happens when you squeeze lemons into red cabbage juice, or discover how to build a circuit with two lights! In her free time, Claudia likes to play in the water and the mountains, and with her two children.

About the Science Communication Lab:

We are Berkeley-based non-profit dedicated to creating award-winning science films that bring real scientists’ stories, research, and passion to the classroom.

“Award-winning documentary filmmaker and University of Michigan Biological Station alumna Sharon Shattuck visits Charlevoix Public Library to screen three new short films and talk about bringing science — with a particular focus on women in science — to life on screen. From her Emmy-nominated feature documentary Picture A Scientist (2020), to an award-winning series of short films about microbes featuring handmade paper puppetry, Sharon will pull back the curtain to reveal her creative process and efforts to make science educational, entertaining, and fun for all.”

OBSERVER will screen at the University of New Brunswick on May 8 at 1 pm. Trailer below. Find a screening near you via the film’s official website.

OBSERVER is produced by The Wonder Collaborative and Wicked Delicate Films. The Wonder Collaborative is our feature film unit at the Science Communication Lab. Learn more here.

Join us for a film screening of Observer at Bemidji State University with one of the featured observers from the film, Dallas Hudson.

Trailer below. Find a screening near you via the film’s official website.

OBSERVER is produced by The Wonder Collaborative and Wicked Delicate Films. The Wonder Collaborative is our feature film unit at the Science Communication Lab. Learn more here.

CINEMA ADMISSION: Seating is General Admission. Tickets may be purchased online, over the phone, or in-person at our Box Office.

“You’re invited to join us on Sunday, April 27, for a one-of-a-kind screening and experience. We will host the screening in our cinema, and Trinity College Professor Susan Masino will lead an outdoor activity after the movie.  Event toolkits will be provided for ticket holders who purchased the full experience package. A bus will transport the group to an offsite location near the UConn School of Law campus.

Real Art Ways is one of several select theaters participating in this screening and event series nationwide. We are thrilled to offer this experience, especially as it coincides with the 2025 City Nature Challenge!”

View Recap:

Trailer below. Find a screening near you via the film’s official website.

OBSERVER is produced by The Wonder Collaborative and Wicked Delicate Films. The Wonder Collaborative is our feature film unit at the Science Communication Lab. Learn more here.

Registration Required. This event is free. Please consider adding a donation when registering for a free ticket.

“Join us for a film screening of Observer at the Kendeda TreeHouse followed by exploration outside led by one of the cast, writer and naturalist David George Haskell. This is a great chance to see something new in our corner of Southwest Atlanta. The first fifty people to register will be eligible to receive an Observer kit of items hand-picked by the filmmaking team. The kit includes a homemade red square for viewing the world, plus a hand lens, notebook, watercolor kit, pencil, sand timer, dice, and a guide to observation games. Come hone your observational powers during a profound opportunity to exercise your curiosity!

About the film: In Observer, filmmaker Ian Cheney embarks on an experiment in which he brings scientists, artists, and a hunter – to a range of locations around the world, often without telling them where they are going, and asks them simply to describe what they see. What unfolds is a deep exploration and celebration of the power of observation: what happens when you find new ways to sense and perceive the world around you? With customary whimsy and a small painted red square that Cheney brings on every journey, the film is an invitation to viewers to find beauty and meaning anywhere and everywhere.

About David Haskell: David George Haskell is a writer and a biologist. His book Sounds Wild and Broken was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Nonfiction and a finalist for the PEN/E. O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award, winner of the Acoustical Society of America’s Science Communication Award. His previous books, The Forest Unseen and The Songs of Trees, are acclaimed for their integration of lyrical writing and rich attention to the living world. Among their honors include Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Nonfiction, the National Academies’ Best Book Award, and the John Burroughs Medal. He has also written essays and multimedia projects for Emergence Magazine, The New York Times, and other publications. Haskell is a professor at the University of the South and his classes have received national attention for the innovative ways they combine action in the community with contemplative practice. He lives in Atlanta.

Additional Information:

• Doors open 30 minutes prior to the event start time
• Getting Here: This event will be hosted at the Trees Atlanta Kendeda TreeHouse (825 Warner St. SW Atlanta 30310). Bike racks are located on the side of the building (near the silo in the Picnic Patio). We are approximately 1 mile from the Oakland City and West End MARTA train stations (Red and Gold Lines). Limited number of parking spaces are available at our location, in addition to limited street parking. Lee & White is accessible via a walk on the Atlanta Beltline for those who plan to eat there before or after this event.
• Registration Required. This event is free. Please consider adding a donation when registering for a free ticket.
• Safety and Cancellation Policy: Learn more about our current Safety Protocols for In-Person Education Events.
• Questions: If you have any questions or comments regarding this event, please email [email protected].”

Trailer below. Find a screening near you via the film’s official website.

OBSERVER is produced by The Wonder Collaborative and Wicked Delicate Films. The Wonder Collaborative is our feature film unit at the Science Communication Lab. Learn more here.

The film screening will be held in the Hage room located on the second floor of the Hartman Union Building on Plymouth State’s campus.

“Join us for a film screening of Observer at Plymouth State University followed by exploration outside with Meghan Doherty, Director of the Museum of the White Mountains. This is a great chance to see something new in our corner of Plymouth. The first 50 people to register and attend will be eligible to receive an Observer kit of items hand-picked by the filmmaking team. The kit includes a homemade red square for viewing the world, plus a hand lens, notebook, watercolor kit, pencil, sand timer, dice, and a guide to observation games. Come hone your observational powers and exercise your curiosity!

In OBSERVER, filmmaker Ian Cheney embarks on an experiment in which he brings a series of keen-eyed observers – scientists, artists, a hunter – to a range of locations around the world, often without telling them where they are going, and asks them simply to describe what they see. What unfolds is a deep exploration and celebration of the power of observation: what happens when you find new ways to sense and perceive the world around you? With customary whimsy and a small painted red square that Cheney brings on every journey, the film is an invitation to viewers to find beauty and meaning in even the most quotidian of locales.”

Trailer below. Find a screening near you via the film’s official website.

OBSERVER is produced by The Wonder Collaborative and Wicked Delicate Films. The Wonder Collaborative is our feature film unit at the Science Communication Lab. Learn more here.