PRESS RELEASE: “Stories with STEAM: The Appalachian Circuit featuring Small Town Universe March 2025 screening tour in West Virginia

• Events are Free and Open to the Public

• Film Screenings will be followed by Q&A Panel with Emmy nominated Director Katie Dellamaggiore, others from the film, and local professionals from the STEM and Humanities fields

BARBOURSVILLE, WV, Feb. 13, 2025 – West Virginia Alliance for STEM and the Arts is thrilled to partner with Emmy nominated Director Katie Dellamaggiore and her company Rescued Media to present an exclusive screening of their new film Small Town Universe as part of our new series, Stories with STEAM – The Appalachian Circuit, touring West Virginia March of 2025!
Small Town Universe shares stories of love, loss, resilience, hope, scientific discovery, and the search for extraterrestrial intelligence in Green Bank, WV, a small town with a big telescope. STU debuted this past April at the 2024 Cleveland International Film Festival in the historic Mimi Theater, where it won the Global Health Award, and was part of the Solar Eclipse day events that were made possible by a partnership between CIFF, the Great Lakes Science Center, and NASA’s Glenn Research Center. It has since gone on to screen at multiple film festivals, winning awards and audiences’ hearts across the country and beyond.

In addition to featuring the Green Bank Observatory and many people from the surrounding community in the film – including Charleston natives Dr. Karen O’Neil (previous Director of the Green Bank Observatory) and Michael Holstine (former Facility/Project Engineer and Business Manager at the GBO during the filming), and local Marshall University Physics graduate student, Ellie White – Dellamaggiore worked with many talented film production crew members from West Virginia including cinematographer/filmmaker Tijah Bumgarner who is also a Marshall professor and Director of MU’s new Filmmaking Program.

Details about the WV screening tour locations, times, and associated events are listed below and in the attached Stories with STEAM announcement flyer. There are also plans to host film screening/discussion events with local middle and high school students at several of the sites. All events are free and open to the public.

Each event will include a screening of the film and the chance to join our growing conversation about the importance of community, compassion, connection, and our place in the Cosmos. Following the screening, you can share your thoughts and questions with Director Katie Dellamaggiore and a panel of people from the film, local scientists, humanity scholars, and others. You can also share your thoughts about the film and the events through a feedback form, details of which will be provided at the screenings. In addition, there will be informational tables at each event about STEM and the Arts opportunities available for all ages, including one for STEAM Trek, a free web based game platform sharing virtual STEAM resources from organizations in WV and beyond.

March 7 2025
WVU Morgantown
Oglebay Hall/Ming Hsieh Hall G20
6:30 Reception
7:00 pm Screening

March 10 2025
WVU Tech Beckley
Carter Hall
5:30 pm Reception
6:00 pm Screening

March 12 2025
Marshall University
Joan C Edwards Performing Arts Center
4:30 pm Short Film Competition Awards Ceremony
5:30 pm Reception
6:00 pm Screening

March 13 2025
The Clay Center
Caperton Planetarium & Theater
5:30 Doors Open
6:00 pm Screening

For more information about these events, please visit our Small Town Universe Collaboration page at our website www.wvallstar.org (linked here) and/or contact Deana White at deanaw.wvallstar@gmail.com.

We are so grateful to our sponsors: the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission’s Science, Technology and Research Division, the West Virginia Humanities Council, NASA West Virginia Space Grant Consortium, the WV Film Office, and the WVU Center for Gravitational Waves and Cosmology for their generous support of this program and so many programs in WV!

And thank you to our partners the Green Bank Observatory, WVU’s Department of Physics and Astronomy, WVU’s Department of English, the WVU Institute of Technology, Marshall University, and The Clay Center for their support, the opportunity to host screenings at their institutions, and their continued contributions to our local communities!

To watch a trailer for the film and learn more about Small Town Universe, visit https://vimeo.com/928829091 and contact kj.schulz@gmail.com.

To inquire about how to host a screening in West Virginia or beyond, please email us at deanaw.wvallstar@gmail.com.

WV All STAR’s mission is to promote the advancement of education and participation in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) and the Arts by implementing and supporting creative programs that can spark an interest, motivate, and create exposure to both STEM and the Arts in an integrated way. We hope to encourage people of all ages to find their passion and determine the tools and opportunities necessary to chart their paths to accomplishing their life’s work. Through passion, our paths are made clear – and our paths can change the world.

This project is presented with financial assistance from the West Virginia Humanities Council, the official state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations do not necessarily represent those of the West Virginia Humanities Council or the National Endowment for the Humanities.

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