Dream Big
Engineering Our World
Sorry, this show closed Sunday, Oct 16, 2022
Fourteen of the top 20 tallest bridges are located in China. The Longjiang Bridge is China’s longest and highest suspension bridge. Spanning a distance almost equal to the Golden Gate Bridge, the Longjiang towers 900 feet above a river gorge in western Yunnan Province.
A close-up view of the Shanghai Tower’s aerodynamic twist, which reduces the impact of typhoon winds on this 2073-foot, 128-story structure.
The Shanghai skyline includes the Shanghai Tower, where 16,000 people live, work and play. The skyscraper is the world’s second tallest building, and its innovative design is featured in Dream Big.
On China’s central coast, Shanghai engineers build ever-taller buildings to accommodate the city’s 24 million residents. Its skyline includes the 2,073-ft Shanghai Tower, where 16,000 people live, work and play.
The Great Wall of China has endured for thousands of years. In Dream Big, viewers learn that in some sections of the wall, builders used sticky rice in the mortar, which enhanced its durability. Copyright: Sophy Ru
Engineers led by Avery Bang work on the new Chameau footbridge in Haiti. Bridges like these, built in developing countries, signal a new field of study and work called humanitarian engineering.
Engineers work on the final pieces of the Chameau footbridge in Haiti. The Chameau Bridge will provide much-needed access to schools and medical care for isolated, rural families.
Haitian schoolgirls are among the first to walk across the newly built Chameau Bridge in Haiti. The bridge was built by the non-profit group Bridges to Prosperity, led by Avery Bang, which brings the benefits of engineering to developing countries.
Engineer Avery Bang celebrates with local Haitian families who will benefit from the new Chameau Bridge. Avery is the head of the non-profit group Bridges to Prosperity, which has built more than 200 bridges in impoverished countries.
Innovative engineers designed the Falkirk Wheel in Scotland, which moves boats between two different levels of canals. It is the only rotating boat lift of its kind in the world.
Fredi Lajvardi, head of the Robotics Team at Carl Hayden High School in Phoenix, Arizona, with Angelica Hernandez, whose robotics team unexpectedly beat MIT during an underwater robot competition.
Engineer Angelica Hernandez mentors students from her former Phoenix high school as they prepare to enter a robotics contest.
“Stinky” the robot completes a task during an underwater robot competition. The team of high school engineers at Carl Hayden High School in Phoenix, Arizona surprised everyone with their robot and their ingenuity.
Engineer Menzer Pehlivan and a group of children enjoy a ride on a roller coaster; a feat of engineering that brings fun and thrills to people everywhere
The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System is the largest solar thermal power plant in the world. Located in the Mojave Desert, the Ivanpah deploys 173,500 heliostat mirrors and has a gross capacity of 392 megawatts. Engineers in the clean tech industry look for ways to use renewable energy to help build a more sustainable future.
An engineer performs a routine inspection of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California. The Golden Gate is a suspension bridge designed by a team of engineers in the 1930s. Up until 1964, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world.
Narrated by Academy Award® winner Jeff Bridges, Dream Big: Engineering Our World will transform how you think about engineering. From the Great Wall of China and the world’s tallest buildings to underwater robots and solar cars, Dream Big celebrates the human ingenuity behind engineering marvels big and small, and shows how engineers push the limits of innovation in unexpected and amazing ways. With its inspiring stories of human grit and aspiration and extraordinary visuals for the world’s largest screens, Dream Big reveals the compassion and creativity that drive engineers to create better lives for people and a more sustainable future for us all.
- Travel from Nepal to Dubai and Australia to Haiti, then to Seattle, San Francisco and Phoenix, Arizona, in this new giant-screen film.
- Find out the secret that has kept the Great Wall of China standing for centuries.
- Learn how engineers help keep buildings safe during earthquakes.
- See an underdog robotics team try to beat the odds in a NASA-sponsored competition.
Director and two-time Academy Award nominee Greg MacGillivray says that Dream Big is "an entertaining, visually spectacular film full of stirring human stories that reveal the impact engineers have on our society. We hope it energizes kids of all ages, especially girls, to think about engineering as a meaningful way to help others and leave a positive mark on the world."
Dream Big is locally presented by The Shiley Foundation. Dream Big is a MacGillivray Freeman film produced in partnership with American Society of Civil Engineers and presented by Bechtel Corporation.
Rave Reviews
"... it’s the sort of majestic educational film that every adult will want their child to see—and, in all likelihood, will want to see themselves." —Variety
"Along with the fascinating factoids it assembles, Dream Big poses many questions—all of them grist for the problem-solving mill. ... Its what-if mix of physics, imagination and goodwill is an exhilarating conversation starter." —The Hollywood Reporter
"[Dream Big] explores human ingenuity through 'wow' moments … while hooking viewers with personal stories of inspiring characters." —Sandra Barrera, Los Angeles Daily News
"We had no idea how creative and fun being an engineer can be! An entertaining, inspiring, informative and fun film." 5 Stars —KidzWorld
"Majestic shots … Hopefully many future engineers will be sitting in the front row, inspired by the 50-foot-tall engineers on the screen in front of them." —Matt Blitz, Popular Mechanics
"... Dream Big packs quite a punch and, particularly for girls, is an inspiring example of why we need to invest in STEM education." —Common Sense Media
For Educators
Bring your class to see Dream Big! Watch this educators' trailer to find out how this film can help you inspire your students. Dream Big explores how we use science and technology to build, invent and shape our world. Curriculum addressed in the film include: Engineering, Science and Technology, Mathematics, Social Studies and Geography. You can find the educator guide, lesson plans and activities here. To book a field trip to see this film at the Fleet Science Center, email ClientServices@rhfleet.org or call (619) 238-1233 x 806.
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