Schoolkids Report on Aliens in 1994

Environmental & Science Education, STEM, Children, Astronomy, Solar System, Society, Culture, health, Medicine

Ed Hessler

A video from the BBC Witness History series (4m 13s) tells about "schoolkids who said they saw 'aliens.'"

I didn't recall hearing about this event which is described in the introduction. "In 1994, 60 children at Ariel school in Ruwa, Zimbabwe said they'd seen a 'UFO' and 'aliens with big eyes' in bush land near their school playground. The story was reported around the world.

"A BBC crew were among the first on the scene and spoke to pupils and teachers. There were also reports of strange lights and a 'craft' in the sky in other parts of Zimbabwe, as well as in Zambia and South Africa."

Was it a case of mass hysteria? In a literature review published in the Malawi Medical Journal, Demobly Kokota, a psychologist at the Malawi Medical School, summarizes cases of mass hysteria events in African countries.