Welcome to our 8th season of Science on Screen!

at Salina Art Center Cinema

Thanks to funding from the Coolidge Corner Theatre and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Salina Art Center Cinema is a proud participant in Science on Screen and features a series of pairings of expert-led discussions of scientific topics with screenings of popular films.

Science on Screen is a nationwide initiative to promote scientific literacy through entertainment, inspiring audiences an increased appreciation for STEM topics—science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

All Science on Screen films are $5 | Students FREE with a valid student ID

Films begin at 6 PM, discussions after the film

2026 SCHEDULE:

12 Angry Men (1957)
January 27, 2026
Screened during the run of 12 Angry Men at Theatre Salina
Topic: Science on Trial: DNA, Truth, and the Modern Jury
This classic courtroom drama sparks a conversation about forensic science, DNA evidence, lie detection, and the role of scientific certainty in the justice system. The discussion explores what has changed—and what hasn’t—since the 1950s when science meets human bias.

Checkpoint Zoo (2024)
February 24, 2026
Topic: Zoos in Crisis and Conservation Collaboration
This powerful documentary chronicles the rescue of thousands of animals during the early days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Representatives from Rolling Hills Zoo will discuss how AZA-accredited zoos, including Kansas AZA Zoos (KaZOOs), work together during emergencies and global crises.

Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story (2017)
March 24, 2026 — National Science on Screen Night
Topic: Codes, Curves, and Coordinates
Hollywood icon Hedy Lamarr’s overlooked scientific legacy takes center stage in this documentary about her invention of frequency-hopping technology, a foundation for modern Wi-Fi, GPS, and Bluetooth. The screening will be followed by a short talk, Q&A, and an optional geocaching activity in downtown Salina.

Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008)
April 28, 2026
Topic: Earth Uncovered: Geology, Volcanoes, and Ancient Life Beneath Our Feet
Inspired by Jules Verne’s novel, this adventure film launches a discussion separating geological fact from fiction while highlighting Kansas’s own geological history, fossils, and underground wonders through hands-on displays and expert insights.

Past Events are on Youtube!

• Wednesday, June 9, 2021 - Film, “Rear Window” followed by a discussion with Susan Bennet. Susan Bennet is a headshot and creative portrait photographer based in St. Louis, Missouri. She specializes in working with people who really, really hate having their picture taken. Coming from a background in sociology and a long career in corporate marketing, Susan now works to deconstruct the power our images have over us by exposing all the ways the camera can lie. She will be discussing The Science of the Selfie and how no, you don't really look like that.

• Wednesday, May 26, 2021 - Film, “The Woman Who Loves Giraffes” followed by a discussion with Executive Director of Rolling Hills Zoo, Ryan VanZant, and several staff who work with giraffes at the zoo.

• Tuesday, March 30, 2021 - Film, “Radium Girls” followed by Martha Tasker, project manager for the Former Schilling Air Force Base Groundwater Contamination Project. She will be discussing the background of Former Schilling Air Force Base in Salina, KS, the contamination found in the soil, surface water, groundwater, and bedrock at the AFB, and how she worked to resolve the contamination issue.

• Thursday, October 15, 2020 - Tesla followed by a discussion with Michael “Kit” Thompson, Renewable Energy Department Chair, and Andrew Clark, Renewable Energy Instructor, from Cloud County Community College discuss the generation of alternating current and direct current from wind and solar energy.

• Monday, October 19, 2020 - Kajillionaire followed by a discussion with Dr. George Jerkovich and Dr. Paula Fried as they discuss sociopathic behavior.

• Monday, October 26, 2020 - Spider Silk: An Ancient Biomaterial for the Future. A discussion with Dr. Justin Jones, director of the spider silk laboratory, USTAR BioInnovations of Utah State University to discuss spider silk.Monday, March 25, 2019 SEARCHING (2018) followed by guest speaker Sergeant Jeffery D. Swanson from the Kansas Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Sergeant Swanson will lead a discussion exploring the ways in which computer forensics are being used to investigate crime and what we can all do to stay safer.

• Monday, April 1, 2019 Beyond the Brink (2018), a documentary, dives deep into the intricacies of the water and food nexus as it highlights the evolving implications on a National Security threat through the lens of California's San Joaquin Valley. Following the film, James J. Butler, Jr. Senior Scientist, Section Chief, Geohydrology with the Kansas Geological Survey will discuss Kansas’ invisible water crisis and the depletion of the Ogallala Aquifer, one of the largest underground sources of freshwater in the world.

• Monday April 8, 2019 Robot & Frank (2012), a film set in the near future. An ex-jewel thief receives a gift from his son: a robot butler programmed to look after him. But soon the two companions try their luck as a heist team. But can humans and machines truly be friends? After the film, join K-State Polytechnic Computer Systems Professors Bill Genereux, Tom Mertz, Troy Harding, Tim Bower and Michael Oetken in a discussion about the impact of robotics, automation and artificial intelligence on society.

• Monday, April 15, 2019 - To Dust (2018). Shmuel, a Hasidic cantor in Upstate New York, distraught by the untimely death of his wife, struggles to find religious solace, while secretly obsessing over how her body will decay. As a clandestine partnership develops with Albert, a local community college biology professor, the two embark on a darkly comic and increasingly literal undertaking into the underworld. Then enjoy a discussion with Dr. Philip S. Meckley, Department of Religion and Philosophy at Kansas Wesleyan University as we discuss religious and philosophical ideas about what happens to the human body after death. He will be looking at various topics like death consciousness, the religious and social status of the human corpse, and the loss of capacity for human experience.