Milwaukee Public Schools sent hundreds of 6th and 7th graders to the movies to see the Oscar-nominated film Hidden Figures Wednesday.
Students came by the busload to see the movie about a trio of African-American women who made unprecedented contributions to NASA in a time where there many challenges for women and blacks.
It's a great story, and great piece of history that MPS leaders say most people don't know about. They wanted to expose more students to STEM careers, and Kaci Bondlong and her classmates are excited to learn.
"This is a really awesome and great movie, and I believe everybody should see it," said Bondlong.
MPS leaders say roughly 3,000 students watched Hidden Figures Wednesday, captivating not only for girls but for boy students as well.
Jovannis Dansby, a 7th grader at 53rd Street School, is going to recommend the movie to lots of people.
"It is actually motivational for me because it's black women. Usually it would be a white woman or a white man but it's black women and I'm black myself, I thought it was just all men just doing it," said Dansby.
He learned one valuable lesson:
'If you could put your mind to it then you can do whatever you want," he said.
In all, MPS is expected to send 10,000 students to see the movie over the next two weeks. The school system is raising $155,000 to send these students to the movie. They've received donations from $5 to $5,000.
