Making animated science films for kids with or without autism

Dr Rina Fu's cartoon series helps bring the world of science, technology and art to ALL students.

‘There needs to be a better understanding between the arts world and the science world,’ says Dr Rina Fu. ‘We need to stop siloing the arts and the sciences in schools and put the ‘A’ back in STEM and make it STEAM.’

Fu is doing her best to bridge that gap. She’s speaking to ArtsHub on the phone from Red Bird Creative, the little Perth animation studio where she’s been putting in overtime, drawing a character with a team of neurodivergent artists, together with Red Bird’s creative director Aaron Welch. They’re making Scab, their second MicroToons animated short film, explaining microbial processes via fun, dialogue-free graphics. Scab is the hotly anticipated sequel to the award-winning Pimple.

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Rochelle Siemienowicz is the ArtsHub Group's Education and Career Editor. She is a journalist for Screenhub and is a writer, film critic and cultural commentator with a PhD in Australian cinema. She was the co-host of Australia's longest-running film podcast 'Hell is for Hyphenates' and has written a memoir, Fallen, published by Affirm Press. Her second book, Double Happiness, a novel, will be published by Midnight Sun in 2024. Instagram: @Rochelle_Rochelle Twitter: @Milan2Pinsk