Original subtitles

Action.

- Z? - Cut.

Exactly.

You know, sometimes,

when we immerse ourselves in technology,

we cut ourselves off from nature

and from each other.

You know what? Try this.

Think of your minds as powerful tablets

and nature as one never-ending

- Ew! Guh! - and always evolving engineering challenge.

Now look around.

See everything that is open to you

now that you have put your cell phones away.

We had no choice.

You took them from us.

Yes, but that was in hopes

that you would interface with each other

and not just your screens.

You know, humans, we are social beings.

We thrive on interaction, right?

So just by simply talking to someone,

you can expand your individual body of knowledge

and exponentially increase your collective power.

Isn't that amazing?

Yeah. When will we get our phones back?

When you start communicating with each other.

Yes, Z.

When will we be able to use all the equipment?

When you show me that you're ready.

Okay. I-- I guess it's time.

Everybody, off.

Go off and explore.

What does she mean, show her I'm ready?

I was born ready.

When have I not talked about wanting to be a filmmaker?

Hasn't happened.

If I could have filmed my own birth,

I would have.

That's commitment.

Rae's really nice and all,

but this nature obsession of hers

is a little unnatural at a STEAM camp.

Cosine. Nature would be a lot cooler

if tablets grew on trees and if trees were robots

and if robots were powered

by sustainable, locally sourced ice cream--

ideally mint chocolate chip.

I'm working on a prototype and open to other flavors.

If I got an allowance,

I would be your first investor.

The point is, these hands came here--

...to build things,

not to squash-- bugs.

You're cultivating a new challenge.

Hello, explorers.

Who was that?

Whoops.

Sorry about that.

I know I should stop or at least slow down

when I talk to people.

My parents are always telling me

I'm going to give somebody whiplash

one of these days.

Your parents are on to something.

Hi. I'm Suzi, but everyone calls me Z.

Well, that's E-Z to remember.

I'm Paws,

and you are--

So excited.

Don't you think our collective new friends vibe

is absolutely pulsatingly kinetic?

Well, I have to run to the garden

to tend to my gourds, tubers, pods,

and night shades,

but I can't wait to get to know each other

and, as Rae says, expand our minds.

Goodbye, explorers.

Forget wind turbines and solar panels.

She's a great renewable energy source.

Did she seriously just forget to tell us her name?

Whoops! Drew! My name's Drew!

Ohh.

Here.

When we decided to come here for the summer,

I said I did not want to get up close and personal

with nature.

This...

is very close and very personal.

We just have to stick it out until Rae changes her mind.

As long as she changes hers before I lose mine.

Ohh.

I'm done.

Paws: Stay up!

The left side is sort of...

Paws: Stay up!

Now the right side is...

Paws: Stay up!

The middle's all kinds of messed up.

Paws: Stay up!

Hey, look at you go.

In it to win it.

Good job.

Unless, you know,

it was raining or something.

If we have to build a fire,

I am burning that thing.

Yes.

Yeah!

Ha.

Nice handiwork, Paws.

Bona fide genius up here.

That's really awesome.

Even upside-down.

I've always thought that filmmaking

is a great way to bring people together.

Everyone loves seeing stories brought to life.

Oh, no.

Look at all that cool equipment.

You know what we need at this very moment?

An ax?

I was going to say fairy godmother.

I'm neither, but maybe I can help.

Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you.

I'm Jordan.

- Hi, Jordan. I'm-- - Z and Paws.

I know.

Because you really are our fairy godmother?

Just your counselor,

but I used to be a camper here

for ten amazing summers.

I loved this place.

Wish we could say the same.

There's no way I could survive

nine more no-tech summers.

If Rae is conducting

some kind of deranged science experiment--

does withholding tech from kids make them crazy? --

she can absolutely conclude yes, it does.

It's true.

This camp used to be run a lot differently.

Has hearing about the good old days

ever made anyone feel good?

Where did she go?

But there's a lot to race bio mimicry.

Without observing the burdock plant's hooks and loops,

you can't invent

the Velcro on your wristband.

Without observing birds in flight,

you can't invent an airplane.

Without observing water lilies and starry nights,

you can't paint some of the world's most beautiful paintings.

Nature is one big laboratory and artist's studio

rolled into one.

Mind blown.

I have a feeling about you two.

No. A hypothesis.

That if you put your heads together,

you'll figure out a solution to your predicament

and maybe even come to realize

that Rae's experiment isn't so deranged after all.

Whoa. What a cool charm bracelet.

I've never seen one like it.

Thanks. I made it myself.

It's a constant reminder of things I love.

I used this piece of circuit board

as a pinhole projector during the last solar eclipse.

Whoa.

And I use these for stargazing,

bird watching,

or just to find my way home

if I'm ever lost.

No. That's the lunch bell.

I say we commemorate this moment

with a threefie.

Do you have a phone?

Rae confiscated ours.

Who needs a phone when you have these?

Popsicle sticks?

They're an awesome aerodynamic tool.

I never set off on a hike without them.

That, my friends,

is what you call a window of opportunity.

Now I just need something for impact.

Perfect.

What are you making?

It's called a cobra-weave stick bomb,

but for our purposes,

just think of it as a remote control.

See if you can find some pinecones

with sap on them. Hurry.

Is she amazing or what?

I'm voluntarily looking for pinecones.

She's a miracle worker.

These are pretty sappy.

Nature's glue.

Ready?

Not sure what for, but heck, yeah.

Bombs away.

Quick. Say STEAM.

- STEAM! - STEAM!

I vote for calling Jordan our fairy geekmother.

Cosine. She could almost be an actual fairy,

the way she just appeared out of nowhere.

You know, that thought had crossed my mind.

- What thought? - Why we didn't meet her

at the start of camp, with the other counselors.

Hello, explorers.

I just foraged some yummy grub for my glow worms.

Ew! We're eating.

So are they.

Today's special is sea lavender salad,

also known as snail chow.

Seriously, Drew? Snails?

They're considered delicacies by the French

and bioluminescent beetles.

Arthropod and chordataman,

we are all connected.

There's Rae.

Let's go ask her about Jordan.

- Rae: Hi, girls. - Excuse us.

Oh. Okay. Um, see you later, then.

Child: Can we go to the tech lab after lunch?

- Hi, Rae. - Oh, hi, girls.

How are you two coming along?

Great. In fact,

we're really starting to get the hang of things,

thanks to Jordan.

Jordan?

Yeah. Our counselor.

We were actually wondering

why we hadn't met her before today.

But we totally love her.

Yeah. Jordan is awesome.

I had so much fun with her,

I almost forgot I was outside.

Uh, there is no counselor here by the name of Jordan.

Excuse me.

What just happened?

How could Rae not know who one of her own counselors is?

What if Jordan isn't really a counselor?

How could she not be? She knew everything about the camp.

She knew who Rae was.

That's true.

But then why would Rae lie?

It doesn't make any sense.

I don't know.

Maybe she wasn't lying.

Maybe she just forgot.

She is a vegetarian.

Huh?

Sometimes they can be low on iron,

which impairs brain function,

which could affect memory.

She's always drinking spinach smoothies.

She can't be low on iron.

Yeah. Maybe not.

I've got it. Our threefie.

What about it?

It's proof Jordan exists.

We show it to Rae.

You're a genius.

- What in the world? - Oh, my gosh.

Why isn't Jordan in the photo?

I don't know.

She was standing right next to us.

- She was there. - I know.

She was there--

her Popsicle sticks, her charm bracelet.

They were all there. They were all real.

They don't seem real anymore.

Z, that's insane. She has to be real.

Wait a minute.

What's that in the upper right-hand corner

of the photo?

I can't tell.

It's too small in the frame.

We have to zoom in somehow.

Here. Let me help you.

Thanks. My arms are getting tired.

Hey!

You aren't going to believe this.

What? What is it?

Take a look.

No way.

How did Drew photo bomb us?

She's really fast.

But we would have at least heard her run away.

Fine. I'll say it.

This is now officially extremely weird.

How is Drew in our threefie photo but Jordan isn't?

There's only one explanation.

Don't say Jordan's a ghost.

Please don't say Jordan's a ghost.

There might be another explanation.

Which is?

Jordan's a zombie.

Fine.

Jordan isn't a zombie.

Rae is. You said it yourself.

She's low in iron, so she ate Jordan.

Not helpful.

Fine.

Let's investigate this problem

scientifically,

starting with what we observed.

Jordan,

a very nice, very cool, very real,

and very alive-seeming human being.

Further evidence of which,

I touched her arm, and it didn't fall off.

Excellent clinical observation.

What's that noise?

Are we still investigating things scientifically?

Always.

Mm, in that case,

based on the evidence,

I'd conclude that was just the wind.

Just the wind?

Rattling a chain?

I'm going to go investigate.

I'm going to hide under the covers.

I can't let you face this seriously rude ghost alone.

Okay, on the count of 3--

Thousand?

Both: 1, 2, 3!

See? Nothing here. It's just the wind.

Look. It's Jordan's charm bracelet.

That's what was making the noise.

Now we have empirical proof.

Jordan isn't a ghost or a zombie.

Neither accessorizes with jewelry.

Skulls, yes.

But where is Jordan?

And why would she leave her bracelet on our door?

- Drew: Hello, explorers. - Aah!

Drew, you scared us half to death.

Are you a ghost?

I don't think so, but it would be really cool.

No!

What are you doing out here

in the middle of the night?

Oh, uh, I saw you guys come outside, and I--

I wanted to make sure you were all right.

I like to think of myself as the camp's watchful guardian

of the night realm.

What a curious coincidence.

"Watchful guardian of the night realm"

is an anagrammatic acronym for "wrong."

Wow. I didn't realize that.

You're fast.

Did you hang this on our door?

No, but it's really cool.

Did you see who did?

- No. - Then how exactly

are you a watchful guardian of the night realm?

Uh, it's more of an honorary title

because I don't sleep.

Listen, Drew,

this is really important.

We're trying to find our friend Jordan.

Is she the older girl you guys were hanging out with today?

Yeah. Speaking of which,

how did you photo bomb our threefie?

I didn't mean to.

I guess I'd just been standing there so long,

I didn't realize you guys were taking a photo.

It was really cool how she did that thing with the Popsicle sticks.

How long had you been standing there?

The whole time.

Why?

It looked like you guys were having a lot of fun.

I guess I was hoping you'd notice me

and invite me over to join you.

Good night, explorers.

I think we actually have proof of two things.

Which are?

Wherever she is, Jordan's not a ghost.

And Drew's been wanting to hang out with us.

Head up just a bit.

Perfect.

Hey, Drew.

Hi, explorers.

Drew, we've been a little blind.

What do you mean?

We mean,

for science-minded people,

we haven't been very observant.

And, as a result,

we've missed a big opportunity to make a new friend.

We'd really like to start over.

I'd really like that, too.

If we're going to find Jordan, we have to formulate a plan.

How do you formulate a plan to find someone

who isn't a ghost but acts like one?

Well, she gave you her bracelet,

so she's acting like a ghost

who wants to be found.

So maybe she'll leave us another clue.

- Exactly. - So all we have to do is wait.

Yep.

I hate waiting.

Z, isn't this your flip book movie?

No. Mine's in the cabin.

Are you sure?

Oh, my gosh.

This is mine,

but this is ours-- I mean, it's Jordan's.

I mean, she made it for us. It's another clue.

See? That wasn't too long to wait.

This is the last page of my movie

that flew out of the window.

How'd Jordan wind up with it?

That's another question we'll have to ask her

if we ever find her.

What's all this supposed to mean?

It's some kind of riddle.

And this is some type of bug. I'm out.

No. That's a bioluminescent beetle,

or, as I like to call them, baby fireflies.

I know this one.

This dot orbiting the Earth

is a symbol for time.

Bug time? I'm out.

Come on, Paws. We can do this.

What do you think these are supposed to mean?

Those are geometric dimensions for a blueprint.

All right. I'm in.

Look, each of us can figure out a part of this riddle.

I say we divide and conquer.

Too bad we can't use the computers at the tech facility.

Hey, I know the perfect work space.

Cool sundial.

That dot that looks like it's orbiting the Earth

is actually a diagram

that represents the coordinates of this camp.

Whoa.

Based on direction and position

relative to the sun,

I determine that whatever it is

we're supposed to do,

we're supposed to do right here at noon.

Right here? In the garden?

Yep.

But my alfalfa won't be ready to harvest

for weeks.

Then we can safely eliminate that.

Look, this blueprint

is unlike anything I've ever seen.

It doesn't illustrate a conventional space.

I can't really describe it.

It's-- It-- It's like a factory with no walls.

A factory with no walls?

What's the point of that?

Beats me.

I've found the complex chemical solution.

It's luciferin and oxyluciferin.

Great. What is that?

They're one half of a compound enzyme.

The flip book didn't include the solution for the other half,

but, whatever it is, together they create bioluminescence,

which makes things like our firefly friends glow.

So what does it all mean?

We're supposed to be here at noon

to look for an unconventional space with glowing beetles?

Look. We still haven't figured out

what this isolated addition sign's supposed to mean.

Holy cow. That's not an addition sign.

What is it?

A first aid kit?

Which is where you put hydrogen peroxide,

which must be the other half of the compound

that makes things glow.

Let me get my goggles, my gloves, and a mister.

Voilà.

Mind blown.

Behold firefly footprints.

Whoa.

Wow.

No more footprints.

How do we know which way to go?

Pretty sure I did that.

But how? Is there a trip wire?

Ah.

I think it's her very first clue.

Ah.

You know what always comes in...

handy?

Whoa.

So we have three keys.

What do they unlock?

And how do we find it with no footprints?

And without getting lost?

Lucky for us we have a telescope.

Oh.

This way, explorers.

Adventure awaits!

Wow.

A factory without walls.

A laboratory and an artist's studio rolled into one.

Glad you could make it.

Z, Paws: Jordan!

I'm sure my godmother was very shocked

to hear you mention my name.

Godmother?

And Rae's mom,

my personal hero,

built the STEAM camp.

Back in the 1950s,

she made history by being

one of the very first female civil engineers in California.

But the camp was her true passion project.

She wanted to make STEAM accessible to girls

from all walks of life.

I don't understand.

If Rae's your godmother,

why did she pretend to not know you?

Yeah. And say you weren't a counselor.

Because I'm not a counselor

anymore.

Rae's mom passed away last year.

It was a tough time.

Rae wanted me to run the summer program,

but I couldn't.

I knew I could never fill her mom's shoes.

But then you came back.

It seemed like the camp was calling me back.

I was just going to sneak around a little bit,

check things out,

but then I saw you two,

and you reminded me so much of myself my first summer.

But I don't get it.

Why not just come back and chat with us?

Why create the big mystery?

Because I knew,

with a little bit of encouragement,

you'd realize Rae wasn't preventing you

from doing what you loved.

Thinking creatively

and not backing down from a challenge,

like solving a mystery,

is going to serve you well for the rest of your lives.

Thank you.

Paws, you're welcome here any time

to build absolutely anything

your imagination can come up with.

Deal.

I don't suppose you could use

an extra set of hands in your garden.

I was hoping you'd ask.

Deal.

So you digitally lifted yourself

out of our threefie.

And I promise to teach you

every shortcut from every piece of software I know.

Why stop there?

Why not come back with us

and teach all the campers everything you know?

Jordan, you were right.

Your mystery challenge was really exciting.

And we learned so much from working with each other.

That proves you're the perfect person

to run the whole summer program.

Cosine.

When I saw all this,

I knew it was a good sign.

I'm sorry I let you down.

Let me down? No.

You gave me all the hope I needed.

Welcome home.

We can dream of anything we want

Working together, we have so much fun

We have all of the tools right inside us

Every molecule

I've got your back, and you've got mine

We can do this, it's our time

Show the world how much we shine

Together we can conquer whatever

Together we can conquer whatever

Take a deep breath out in the wilderness

Let's use our head, make it fun instead

Things aren't always what they seem

Let's find what's in between

We can open up our eyes

Feels so good to be outside

Together we can conquer whatever

Together we can conquer whatever

If we believe and we persist

And keep asking questions

Stay curious

We'll find what we're looking for

Using our minds, we always score

- Together - If we believe

- We can conquer whatever - And we persist

And keep asking questions, stay curious

- Together - We'll find

- We can conquer whatever - What we're looking for

Using our minds, we always score

If we believe and we persist

And keep asking questions

Stay curious

- Together - We'll find

What we're looking for

Using our minds, we always score