Not all theatergoers expect to start their evening with a presentation about quagga mussels and sea lamprey, but patrons at Plymouth’s Penn Theater were eager for precisely that.
The Penn Theater hosts a series called “Science on Screen,” where they show a movie bracketed by a short presentation and Q&A session to engage the audience on a relevant real-world topic.
Last year, the Penn Theater invited Michigan Sea Grant Extension Educator Erica Clites to lend her expertise to a screening of classic sci-fi horror film The Blob. In the movie, a jelly-like creature from outer space crashes into a small American town and begins absorbing one human victim at a time. It grows larger and larger until the town bands together for a final stand. The creature echoes concerns about invasive species, which arrive from a different geographic area and can dominate their new habitat, to the detriment of native species already present.
Erica prefaced the movie with a ten-minute presentation about invasive species and answered multiple audience questions about species like invasive sea lamprey.
Events like “Science on Screen” provide unique opportunities to reach audiences right where they are. Outreach is crucial: the more people who understand how to recognize, report, and prevent the spread of invasive species, the easier it is to limit their impacts. Read how early detection of the invasive plant hydrilla in Michigan led to a swift state response and potentially saved millions of dollars in damage and remediation costs. Learn more about invasive species in Michigan.
