Best examples of science animations

Science has two faces.

One is grinning happily, and is fascinated by the fun, quirky facts about the natural world. This face is often seen on children discovering the solar system for the very first time, staring bright-eyed at the stars.

But the other face, looking quite grimaced, is confused and frustrated about the unknown. This face can sometimes be found on undergraduates trying to tune into a dry 8 am university lecture. And the coffee isn’t helping.

Which of the two faces do you most relate with?

So, what does science need to do to turn that frown upside down? That’s where science animations come into play as a tool for delivering science in a visually engaging way.

In this blog, we talk about the purpose and value of science animations, who should be using them, and finally showcase our favourite examples of ones that are particularly well-made.

What are science animations?

Science animation refers to the use of animation to portray, communicate, and explain scientific concepts. They are often used for the purposes of academic teaching, awareness campaigning, as well as for entertainment.

We know that animation as a whole has been embraced by the world as a tool for delivering captivating stories. After all, we’ve experienced this firsthand with cartoons and animated feature films.

But how, and why is animation such a powerful tool specifically for science?

Well, it boils down to the fact that science feeds on curiosity. Like with any story, you eagerly want to know what happens next.

You’re curious. About how deep the oceans go. Or about how far the universe stretches.

So instead of being buried for hours in the nitty-gritty details and jargon of static and verbose textbooks, lecture notes, or manuscripts, instead science animations provide a dynamic, precise, and engaging view of the topic at hand in mere minutes.

Save yourself the hassle and put away that textbook!

In other words, animation is a novel language by which science can be communicated.

And luckily for us, we’ve been speaking this language since childhood. I guess all that time we spent watching Saturday morning cartoons was totally worth it!

Who makes science animations?

Despite the name, science animations are rarely made by scientists themselves. Given how busy they are with their research, the vast majority of scientists aren’t trained in visual media. Indeed, it’s rare for a scientist to have formal training in both academic research and animation. Though it’s certainly not impossible, and we encourage all academics to try and produce a quality animation in familiar software such as PowerPoint.

But in all other cases, academics enlist the help of those who can balance their expertise. The artsy part is often done professionally by artists and designers, who in turn, aren’t necessarily trained in academia. So how can we fit this puzzle together to make a science animation?

Science communicators form the bridge that brings them together. Versed in the dealings of both sides, science communicators translate the science from the researcher and advise the designers how it could be represented accurately.

It’s a full team effort.

Do science animations work?

Yes!

The literature has shown that animation is an effective medium for communicating science. In summary, they show that animations:

science animation benefits icons memory book literacy atomic model and palette

Animations promote memory, literacy, and are the perfect tool for merging the worlds of art and science.

If you need more convincing, take it from the video comments section from the biggest stars of science animation on YouTube which boasts almost 17 million subscribers.

Animation makes science more accessible and fosters an informed and engaged public. In other words, it’s the perfect tool for outreach. Through animation, lay audiences can more easily understand and appreciate complex topics like climate change or vaccination.

What’s more, is that animations are the perfect tool for promoting research visibility. In the sea of 7000+ manuscripts that are being published every single day, you’ll find that those that can best get their message across to a wider audience are cited far more often. It’s all about increasing your impact. And the best way to do this is to represent your work through an animation, including video abstracts. We’ve even summarised these points in our own animation about video abstracts.

So, do you think that society would be better off if more people understood and appreciated the value of science?

If your answer is 'yes', then we wholeheartedly agree.

7 examples of the best science animations

So far, while we’ve been hammering on about how science animations are the key to successful communication, without a doubt, there’s still an assessment of quality to be made!

It’s late 2021 (at the time we’re smashing away at this keyboard), and there’s a LOT out there.

To inspire you all, we wanted to share some of the best science animations we know of in no particular order.

Hey, pass the popcorn would you?

Let's hit that play button!

Oceans: how low do they go?

You know that the ocean is deep, right? But do you really know just how deep it goes?

It's well-accepted that we know more about our solar system than we do about the depths of Earth's oceans. And here we are pondering about life in outer space, when there’s so much left undiscovered in the depths below!

This animation from Tech Insider does a great job of explaining the sheer scale of the depths of our oceans.