Bill Nye: Science Guy is a film about the man who was a star of the popular PBS kids’ show who is now advocating for the importance of science, research and discovery in public life. With intimate and exclusive access—as well as plenty of wonder and whimsy—this behind-the-scenes portrait of Nye follows him as he takes off his Science Guy lab coat and takes on those who deny climate change, evolution, and a science-based worldview.
Bill Nye is on a mission to stop the spread of anti-scientific thought and action. Moving on from hosting a popular kids’ show and now the CEO of the Planetary Society, he’s leading a mission to launch LightSail, a satellite propelled by sunlight, while in turn fulfilling the legacy of his late professor and Planetary Society co-founder Carl Sagan.
In addition to taking off his signature “Science Guy” lab coat, Bill Nye has started taking on those who deny the importance of science, from prominent creationist Ken Ham to climate change skeptic, meteorologist, and occasional Fox News commentator Joe Bastardi. Nye goes head-to-head to advocate for the scientific community and its invaluable findings.
And Nye acknowledges that he’s ready for a new challenge. “The Science Guy show is over, and I’ve got to move on to something bigger,” he says. “We have this increasing anti-science movement in the United States. It’s worse than ever. The anti-science movement is more powerful than it’s ever been.”
But Nye’s focus never strays far from what initially propelled him to fame: education. “If we raise a generation of kids that can’t think critically, can’t think scientifically, we are headed for trouble,” he warns. “As a science educator, I am really more serious about it than ever. These people who are denying science, denying evolution, denying the efficacy of vaccinations and especially denying human-caused climate change—we just can’t have this. We’ve got to fight this fight. I’ve got to fight this fight.”
“Many of us grew up with Bill Nye, the Science Guy. He loved science, and he inspired a whole generation of kids to share that passion through his PBS show,” said POV executive director/executive producer Justine Nagan. “Now, as Bill Nye has focused on his role as a champion for climate science, we hope his story and this film will spark dialogue across ideological lines. We are thrilled to bring this outstanding independent film on Bill’s life and work to public media audiences.”
The director/producers of this film are David Alvarado and Jason Sussberg, who founded their company Structure Films specifically to create documentaries of nonfiction storytelling about science, health, and technology. Bill Nye: Science Guy is their latest film, just released last month. The film runs 90 minutes.
This event is free and open to the public and is a collaboration with POV, PBS’ award-winning nonfiction film series, www.pbs.org/pov.
For more information, call the Library at 508-548-8961.