Top 10 Science and Education Influencers

5 August 2021

Top 10 Science and Education Influencers

When we talk about digital influence, science and education influencers may not be the first to spring to mind. Yet these specialists of the popularization of complex topics amass millions of views (notably on YouTube) and speak to a large community.

With simple and comprehensible videos, they break down tough concepts and share their knowledge on various subjects. Going from science, history, philosophy, to numerous other topics, their content is both fun and creative as well as educational.

School may not always be for everyone, but these videos by science and education influencers are succeeding in fascinating young kids as well as adults on complicated subjects. In fact, many brands and companies quickly noticed this. These influencers are being increasingly contacted for collaborations, in order to convey information or put forward certain products.

Who are these digital teachers? Discover Influence4You‘s selection of its top science and education influencers.

Vsauce

The classic

From the human mind to the environment, the educational channel created in 2007 by Michael Stevens covers science, but not only. They are practically the original definition of science influencers. He breaks down complicated scientific theories into a video that is not just easy to understand but fascinating, using examples and explaining in a clear way.

The series Mind Field is all about human behavior, whilst other videos tackle more pragmatic questions like “what if the earth stopped spinning?” Most of their videos have several millions of views, showing they constantly succeed in showing that “Our World is Amazing”.

Dianna Cowern

For physics fun

MIT grad Dianna Cowern, AKA The Physics Girl, shares her passion for science through cool explanatory videos, experiments, demonstrations, and other science news on YouTube. You can also find photo challenges and other physics-related fun on her Instagram.

What began as a personal project has ended up being used as a classroom resource for teachers as Dianna’s videos are always cheerful, interesting, and inspiring. In fact, Dianna is a strong advocate for girls in STEM, and her energy and dedication has even landed her on the Forbes 30 under 30 list for education.

Steve Spangler

The TikTok scientist

Steve Spangler has a gift for making kids want to join in on the science fun. In May 2020, author and science teacher Steve was invited to become an official TikTok partner to take part in the #learningontiktok initiative. Steve accepted the challenge without realizing that he’d have to share his science in under 60 seconds. However he’s thrived with his science experiments not to try at home but rather “at a friend’s home”, as the millions of views are proving!

@stevespanglerScience of Fireworks! DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME! ##scienceexperiments ##science ##chemistry ##fireworks ##color ##stevespangler ♬ original sound – @stevespangler

Minute Physics

The most bite-sized

Henry Reich puts it simply. He quotes, “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough“. If that isn’t enough motivation to get all the knowledge in minutes, then his recognizable stick-figure drawing style illustrating his explanations should do the trick.

It’s Okay To Be Smart

For all the questions

Joe Hanson is a very curious guy; his videos all answer questions you wish you’d thought of before. Mostly biology-related, but not exclusively, they’ll all catch your interest.

Does someone else have your face? Do fish pee? Do trees talk? Why is money just technology? Why do you love your family? Featuring some nice animation as well as great explanations, you’ll be wanting to binge through all the videos.

Periodic Videos

For chemistry lovers

This channel is for all things chemistry. The initial idea was to make a video for each elements of the Periodic table, but since then it’s exploded into much more! Watch all kinds of chemical experiments, molecules, and news, explained on this channel.

Philosophy Tube

The most philosophizing

UK YouTuber Olly posts a video a month on a different philosophy topic, text, or question. He has a playlist dedicated to each of the major themes of philosophy: aesthetics, metaphysics, politics and law… His playlist dedicated to the UK A-Level school syllabus helpfully synthesizes main themes in 10-minute videos that will help students struggling with their essays.

History buffs

When history meets film criticism

There’s no better way to revisit history than through a good film. But when the History Buffs use cinematic masterpieces to compare fact and fiction, followers get a fascinating lesson in film criticism and History. This is the channel for those who wonder to what extent a film is based on a true story (so pretty much all of us, right?).

OverSimplified

The easiest way to revise

Looking for a quick solution to brush up on a moment of history? OverSimplified is even better than a Wikipedia page to revisit major historical events like wars, revolutions and famous figures. The videos oscillate between witty cartoon-like dialogues and verifiable facts, making for engaging narration.

Just don’t believe everything you see in the videos (for example: no, there were no Porsches in pre-revolutionary France…). The Irish American influencer behind this page is more discreet than his animated meme-like illustrations, but he sometimes briefly reveals his face to advertise a sponsor, or gives something away about himself in some of his Reddit posts.

Thomas Frank

The most productive

Thomas doesn’t teach a subject, he teaches the art of how to study better. Tips for being efficient at school and at work, to suggestions on how to take notes, exam techniques, and even a study playlist… This influencer is the ultimate guru for new students who may be feeling overwhelmed with adapting to new work schedules in college. He might be at the end of this article, but students should perhaps be starting with his videos before moving on to learning anything else!