Pass the Popcorn and a Dash of Data Science
On Saturday, May 23, the AMC Movie Theater in Manhattan, Kansas, rolled out the red carpet for something a little different than your typical blockbuster. No, not Toy Story 5—this time, the stars of the show were robots.
The educational animated film “A Data Science Tale: When Data and Pixel Met” premiered to nearly 200 community members at the theater and dozens of children in local schools.
At the heart of the story are two lovable robot characters—Pixel and Data—who team up to solve mysteries using data science concepts. Along the way, they explore real-world themes that hit close to home for Kansas communities, including extreme weather, building resilience in small rural towns, and protecting crops.
The project is the brainchild of Teaching Assistant Professor Safia Malallah at Kansas State University, who collaborated with Lior Shamir, professor of computer science, to bring the film to life.
“Thank you to all the parents and families who came and brought their children to be part of our interactive movie experience,” said Dr. Malallah. “It was truly an unforgettable experience for us.”
Making Data Science Kid-Friendly
The bigger goal behind the film goes far beyond one event. The project is designed to create accessible educational materials for children in kindergarten through fifth grade, helping introduce early learners to artificial intelligence (AI) and data science in an engaging, approachable way.
In addition to animated videos, the team is developing digital books that explain similar concepts in a visual, story-based format. Together, these resources will be made available to Kansas educators and integrated into Kansas State University’s existing teacher professional development programs. These materials are intended to give teachers practical tools to bring data science concepts into their classrooms, even at the elementary level.
Bridging the Gap One Robot at a Time
A key focus of the project is helping close the digital divide, especially for rural communities in Kansas. Smaller schools often struggle to hire full-time computer science or AI educators, which can limit students’ exposure to these important fields.
By providing ready-to-use, freely accessible resources, the project helps ensure that students—regardless of where they live—can start building data literacy and exploring AI concepts early on.
The team plans to make more animated videos and accompanying books in the future. Once complete, they’ll be available through a dedicated website. While a limited number of printed books will be produced, the primary format will be digital to maximize accessibility.
The project will also include teacher guides and lesson plans that break down the concepts in each story and offer ideas for classroom activities. To support adoption, Kansas teachers will be introduced to the materials through professional development programs and networks, including the Cyberpipeline program, which already connects more than 500 teachers across the state.
Ultimately, the project aims to spark early interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) by introducing data science and AI concepts during the formative years when students are just beginning to shape their academic identities.
“We hope the kids will always remember data science and our two detective robots, Data and Pixel,” said Dr. Malallah. “Seeing the excitement and smiles on the kids’ faces was the greatest reward for us.”
The project is supported by a Research and Education Innovation Award, administered by Kansas NSF EPSCoR with funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation’s Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (NSF EPSCoR) ARISE project.
