Claim
Children at Ariel School in Zimbabwe saw a craft land and non-human beings in September 1994
Also known as Ariel School claim
Open. There was no official investigation; the children's accounts were recorded within days by the BBC, by researcher Cynthia Hind and later by Harvard psychiatrist John Mack, and sceptics propose mass suggestion, misidentification or a hoax.
More than sixty pupils at a school in Ruwa said that during the mid-morning break on 16 September 1994 a silver craft landed in the brush and small beings with large eyes appeared. Many of them stand by their account as adults.
Who has said it, in order
- September 1994 — says so, first-hand: Pupils describe seeing something shiny at break time and two figures in tight black suits with big eyes, one beside the craft. Source: Children talk about witnessing the 1994 UFO landing at the Ariel School in Ruwa, Zimbabwe at 0:16
- 19 September 1994 — says so, first-hand: Pupils describe something silver among the trees and a figure in black with “big black eyes” that turned, stared, and went back into a kind of ship. Source: Ariel School, 1994: original BBC news report at 1:04
- 19 September 1994 Colin Mackie — context, opinion: Headmaster Colin Mackie: the children feel they saw something; after asking them to draw it he believes they did, but would be “reluctant” to call it a UFO. Source: Ariel School, 1994: original BBC news report at 1:34
- November 1994 John Mack — context: Harvard psychiatrist John Mack interviewed the children later that year. Source: #490 - ’Ariel Phenomenon’ director Randall Nickerson | Matt's Movie Reviews Podcast at 1:28
- 6 February 2022 Garry Nolan — says so, opinion: Nolan's most fascinating case is the Ariel School sighting in Zimbabwe: 50–60 children who saw a craft and small figures, drew the same pictures, and got the message “you are not taking care of your planet”. Source: Garry Nolan: UFOs and Aliens (Lex Fridman Podcast #262) at 12:28
- 20 December 2022 Randall Nickerson — says so, opinion: Nickerson: no one has ever come forward to say it was something else, and the children were plainly telling the truth. Source: #490 - ’Ariel Phenomenon’ director Randall Nickerson | Matt's Movie Reviews Podcast at 8:34
- — disputes it, opinion: Skeptical explanations include mass suggestion and cross-contamination from group interviews, misidentification (a dust devil, or a touring puppet show), and a former pupil's 2023 claim that he started the story, which contradicts his own 2008 account. Source: en.wikipedia.org (archived)
Connected files
Incidents
- Ariel School encounter (about)
People
- Colin Mackie (comments by)
- John Mack (comments by)
- Garry Nolan (asserted by)
- Randall Nickerson (asserted by)