Triton College's Space Center teams with Polish filmmaker to focus on Earth

Chicago Tribune

7 days ago

Three aliens are in danger of losing their food source when they crash land on Earth in 'The Stellars: Mission Green' by Warsaw, Poland-based Creative Planet.
The trio will have to learn how plants, insects and fungi keep forests healthy in the interactive film for ages 3-8, which will be shown at 7 p.m. Saturdays and 9:45 a.m. Wednesdays through August, at the Triton College Cernan Earth and Space Center, 2000 Fifth Ave., River Grove.
Tickets are $8 for adults; $4 for seniors; and $4 for ages 2-17.
The movie was inspired by the son of Maciej Ligowski, who is the CEO of Creative Planet. He related by Zoom from Poland, that he recalled his son telling him all the details of the movie 'Cars.'
'We wanted to produce movies for kids,' Ligowski said. 'I realized if you make a haunting hero, the kids will remember it forever.'
He decided, 'Why don't I make a movie with something I want him to remember?'
Ligowski produces movies that are educational, 'where the science is wrapped in a story so the kids don't feel that they're being taught. It's natural because they need this knowledge to understand the story,' he said.
After Creative Planet had produced a film for older children, they targeted younger ones in 'The Stellars: Mission Green,' for which Ligowski was the producer and director. Climate, cooperation, and protecting the sun are all addressed in the film.
The focus of the movie is what plants need to live. 'It connects with environmental issues,' Ligowski said. 'We tried to simplify it for kids and make them respect nature and appreciate it.'
To make the script both accurate and appropriate for the age group, the team at Creative Planet consulted with scientists and a child psychologist, he said.
Filmmakers decided to make the movie interactive so children wouldn't get bored and they would understand the story better. Subtle clues in the film will make it easier for young audience members to help the aliens, Aki, John, and Imani, achieve their goal of restoring their food source.
Kris Kovach McCall, director of Cernan Earth and Space Center at Triton College said, 'While the target audience is young people, there's actually a lot of good information for adults, there's humor for adults. It's not just for kids. Yes, it's presented in an animated kind of scenario but the content is really good for everybody. We can all stand to learn more about how forests work. This is a really cool show.'
McCall said the center has been trying to get this show for a year because it fits Cernan's mission.
Even though a lot of what they do at Cernan is about astronomy and space exploration, 'We are also the Earth and Space Center,' she said. 'We talk about all the sciences. We also talk about history, culture, art, music, and everything else. We don't want to be pigeonholed.'
The film teaches the appreciation of such things as bugs and mushrooms, McCall observed. 'All life is connected,' she declared.
'My goal when they leave the dome is that they are a little bit different people than when they entered,' Ligowski said. 'They experienced something that transports them.'
Information is at 708-456-0300 or triton.edu/cernan.