What kids can learn from the movie “Top Gun”
Movies can be a great inspiration for teaching. By being creative, many activities and practical projects can be drawn from this 80’s blockbuster to teach kids engineering, music and even mathematics.
If you ask anyone how a fighter jet, such as the F14’s used in the movie, can take off (or land) from an aircraft carrier with a run-way of less than 100 metres, I’m sure that the majority will not be able to answer, unless, of course, they have watched THIS movie. That’s the deep question that can be asked to begin one of the engineering (or STEAM) learning tasks based on this film. The landing and taking off of jet-fighters on an aircraft carrier could then be modelled using tools such as Scratch or the use of online, free flight simulators can teach students how to actually fly an aeroplane. For all those interested, here is the answer to how a jet fighter takes off and lands.
Mathematics can really be delved into by learning about the differences between the American F14 fighter jets and the Russian MiG’s, supersonic speeds, and even the speed of a motorbike as Maverick chases the jet fighters along the runway.
Like most 80’s movies, the soundtrack formed an integral part of the movie. Kenny Loggins came up with the title track appropriately named “Danger Zone”, while Berlin also got a hit with “Take My Breath Away”. However, as musical students, two other tracks can be used to teach students how to play the piano — “You’ve lost that loving feeling” by The Righteous Brothers can be learnt on the piano, online and visually, through youtube. Just like “Great Balls of Fire” by Jerry Lee Lewis (who was he? go and find out about him), taught visually online. I’m a big fan of the ukelele, and I’m sure the theme song of the film could easily be played on this excellent instrument.
Emotional intelligence appears in many aspects of this film. The main character Maverick has to deal with his inability to manage risks, disappointments and setbacks, family difficulties, friendships and rivalries (remember IceMan), and most importantly, how to handle the death of loved ones.
Leadership experiences and quotes appeared through this film — when Maverick’s wingman was running low on fuel, “Great leaders go back for their struggling team members”; this opening scene leads to the quote “Great leaders aren’t always the first ones picked”. Motivational quotes also flourished with Maverick’s instructor implying “To be the best of the best means you make mistakes, and then you go on…” More quotes can be found here.
Physical Education. Do you really know how to play (beach) volleyball? (I remember being taught at school during PE classes). Beach volleyball most-likely first appeared in California in the 1920’s and since its introduction in Barcelona as a demonstration sport in 1992, has been an official Olympic sport ever since.
Programming. As per the mathematical calculations identified above, mach speeds could be calculated and coded using kid-friendly languages like Scratch or Python.
Many other films can be dissected and used as excellent learning tools. Have you seen the recent movie “Hidden Figures”? Imagine all the learning experiences that could be obtained from a true-story about racism, NASA, computer programming and mathematics.
