Matt Wilkins

Excited to share this video & the #dataliteracy unit we created for grades 9–college! Free, thanks to NSF funding 🙌 I think students will gain so much confidence by practicing the art of making sense of data visuals alongside scientists! #scicomm 🧪📈

this video & its connected unit is the product of many months of work with Vanderbilt researchers. Please check it out and share 🙏

Preventable diseases getting out of control! Check out this visual of measles cases in 2024 & 2025. I made this in #Rstats with ggplot2 + gganimate with CDC data. (Yep, still here 👉 www.cdc.gov/measles/data...) 🧪 Connected to an upcoming unit from @galacticpolymath.com! Stay tuned!

Just a little sneak peek at a simulation we're developing to visualize how vaccination rates affect public health outcomes. What do you think?

Check out this video highlighting our research and explaining how scientists use spectrograms to study animal communication! In collaboration with @galacticpolymath.com as part of our Balancing Act lessons for high school biology students www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLPL...

Come along for a night in the swamp with @reichertfroglab.bsky.social's Lab to learn how spectrograms help us visualize and analyze the hidden world of sound! 🧪🐸🔊 🍎 youtu.be/iLPL9tqNrs4?...

JobViz is a project I started years before I founded Galactic Polymath. My sister found her current job through an earlier version. Students don't know what they don't know. This is about giving them search terms and systems understanding for the world of career possibilities. Plz share

Science class should spark “wait…WHAT?” moments. GP makes free, low-prep lessons for grades 6-college built with researchers so students can chase real questions, primary lit, and explore rabbit holes of curiosity. Please read/share! www.galacticpolymath.com/blog/turning... #SciEd #NGSS #EduSky 🧪

Out today! 🎉 Protists aren’t just pond water blobs. They hunt. Flee. Compete. Shape food webs. Duke ecologist Jean Philippe Gibert reacts to real microscope footage from our Micro Matchups series—and explains why it’s like the Serengeti in a drop of water. 🧪 🎥 youtu.be/oHhSDO9Hu74

In 10 years of doing #scicomm & STEM education, this is the most entertaining thing I've ever made. I really wish we had the budget to make 20 more of these. So fun! 😆🧪

I haven't seen this since I was a kid, but I gotta say I do not remember this very significant plot thread. Also, man I wish we had trains youtube.com/shorts/JRPuZ...

Seems like a useful framework to introduce graphs and data comfort!

If you're teaching #dataliteracy at the K-12 or college level, I think you'll find this useful! The blog links to videos of scientists doing a "think aloud" where they model for students how they notice patterns and make sense of figures. We created it b/c we've never seen it done before

important for students to see that tinkering with Arduinos is a gateway to "real" science. A lot of research doesn't require fancy, expensive equipment 🧪🪶🍎

I learned a ton from Drs. Dai Shizuka and Maria Stager in making this video--so fun! 😁🪶

Really excited to share this @galacticpolymath.com unit: The Science of Craft: Building New Materials with Old Techniques teach.galacticpolymath.com/units/en-US/19. Worked on w/ Dr. Trevor Jones for 6 months to help connect STEM to students who don't see it is "for them." 🧪🍎 #openaccess #STEMed

NEW EPISODE! We sit down with Andrew Robertson (@andrew-antdude.bsky.social) winner of the #myscijourney competition hosted by @galacticpolymath.com. Dive into the remarkable world of ants and learn how complicated these tiny creatures are! Listen now www.smartteapodcast.com/andrew-rober...

"every student deserves the chance to see the world like an entomologist — to think across scales and understand how the smallest lives steer planetary cycles." Even though I'm a "bird guy," Aram makes a convincing argument 😁 This is a good read! 👇

In this chaotic world, I thank @jamesweiss.bsky.social for showing me this footage of a tardigrade "making biscuits" like a cat 😺 youtube.com/shorts/D215E...

Thanks to everyone who supported me! Thanks especially to @galacticpolymath.com for hosting the competition and helping me to get deeper into science communication! More #ant research is on the way!

#SciComm friends! It's the last day for late submissions to @galacticpolymath.com's #MySciJourney Challenge! www.galacticpolymath.com/blog/my-scij...

This is what democracy looks like. #NoKings

Time to stop doom scrolling & check out some AMAZING 3 min science videos. Your thumbs up could decide who wins the #MySciJourney challenge! 🧪🐸🪶🔊 Thanks to lead funder @ncse.bsky.social & organizers @mattwilkins.galacticpolymath.com @scitalker.bsky.social 🙌 www.galacticpolymath.com/blog/my-scij...

Teachers, check it out! Andrew's awesome video is part of our growing collection of short, classroom-ready videos. Watch them and vote with likes to decide who wins the #scicomm competition! #edusky

Scientists, you can still join Andrew & share your 3 min science journey with classrooms across the US (and compete for cash prizes). Accepting late submissions till Nov 3! 🧪🪶🔉 www.galacticpolymath.com/blog/my-scij...

DEADLINE EXTENDED to Oct. 12!✨ I don't need to tell you that public support is crucial to sustaining science. #SciComm has never been more important, so don’t miss this chance to give the public a window into how science really works—and why it works so well. Join the #MySciJourney Challenge!

Scientists, here's your chance to remind the public about the beauty of science & why your work matters! Make a 3min presentation with a template; cash prizes! 💰 Deadline extended to Oct 12. www.galacticpolymath.com/blog/my-scij... Funded by @ncse.bsky.social Plz repost! 🧪🪶🐸🔊 #scicomm #MySciJourney

Undergrads, grad students, professors, medical researchers, scientists in industry: help middle and high schoolers across the country understand what you *actually* do and why it matters! Be a source of inspiration amid all this chaos.

Friends—1 week left! If you use science in your job (undergrad, in academia, in industry...anything!) & you want to help students understand what it's really like & why it's important—here's your chance! 🧪 from @galacticpolymath.com & @ncse.bsky.social 👉 www.galacticpolymath.com/blog/my-scij...

anybody know what kind of wasp this is?

Friends—1 week left! If you use science in your job (undergrad, in academia, in industry...anything!) & you want to help students understand what it's really like & why it's important—here's your chance! 🧪 from @galacticpolymath.com & @ncse.bsky.social 👉 www.galacticpolymath.com/blog/my-scij...

To appreciate the power & promise of science, people need a deeper understanding of the _processes_ of science. Join the #MySciJourney Challenge to show the world what “doing science” looks like for you! Scientists at all stages are invited to submit their short videos by September 30.

Scientists, only 2 weeks left to share your work, why it matters & win up to $500! It's as easy as making a slideshow with our template. This #MySciJourney challenge sponsored by @ncse.bsky.social #scicomm 🧪🔊🐸 👉https://galacticpolymath.com/blog/my-scijourney-scicomm-competition-2025

"...it checks all the boxes — authentic science, student-led inquiry, & ready-to-go NGSS-aligned materials..." 😊 Check out this guest post from @brewerbiology.bsky.social after teaching our free unit about @reichertfroglab.bsky.social's research 🐸🔊🧪 www.galacticpolymath.com/blog/what-ca...

Crazy discovery in ants 🤯🐜 One mother for two species via obligate cross-species cloning in ants | Nature www.nature.com/articles/s41... "Males from the same mother exhibit distinct genomes and morphologies, as they belong to species that diverged over 5 million years ago."

Scientists, here's your chance to share your work, why it matters, and win up to $500! It's as easy as making a slideshow and recording it. We made templates and examples to make it easier. Our #MySciJourney challenge sponsored by @ncse.bsky.social & @civicscimedia.bsky.social sky.social #scicomm

What would you tell your younger self about why your research matters & what's happening to science in the US? I made an example #MySciJourney video (not part of the contest) & a Slides template to simplify the creation of classroom- & social media-friendly vids. Make it your own! 🧪

What would you tell your younger self about why your research matters & what's happening to science in the US? I made an example #MySciJourney video (not part of the contest) & a Slides template to simplify the creation of classroom- & social media-friendly vids. Make it your own! 🧪

🎉 We're so excited to announce the 2025 #MySciJourney Challenge: A #scicomm competition for researchers to share their authentic journeys in science with students, teachers, & the broader public! 🧪 💸 $1k in cash prizes, thanks to @ncse.bsky.social! 👉 www.galacticpolymath.com/blog/my-scij...

Looking for a forum to speak to K-12 students & the public to let them know what science & scientists are really like? Want to tell them why your research matters & what defunding science will do to our way of life? Here's your chance! 🧪🔉🪶🐸

Great news for those who love the Merlin app, but wish it helped you identify frogs and other critters! deepmind.google/discover/blo... 🪶🐸🔉

ICYMI, we (@galacticpolymath.com) created a free web-based sound analysis tool. Great for teaching about birdsong, physics of sound, band, or advanced #bioacoustics! Just a free app with no installation or coding needed thanks to NSF funding! #SaveNSF 🧪 www.galacticpolymath.com/blog/dive-in...

Check out these #bird scientists showing how to be observant and ask good questions! 🤩🪶 Featuring Drs. Allison Johnson & Dai Shizuka, and some adorable Australian fairywrens! #NSF -funded research and #BroaderImpacts 🧪 www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjve...

If you're teaching any science class (middle school to college) where you want students to learn how to ask better questions, check this out! Free thanks to funding from NSF. #saveNSF #birds #Edusky🧪

THIS! 🔥👇 "We’re not going to fix education with more technology... we’re putting too much emphasis on what looks innovative, and not enough on what’s actually effective." #EduSky #EdTech Wonderful guest blog by Michelle Blanchet of The Educators' Lab! 👏 www.galacticpolymath.com/blog/stop-ch...

When I began studying bird song 16 yrs ago, my daily experience of the world changed forever. Since then, I've wanted to help others get curious about croaks, chirps & whistles at the edge of their hearing. What's making that? Why? What are they saying? Plz check it out & share! 👇🐋🐦‍⬛🐸🔊 #EduSky

this court says that allowing EPA to regulate carbon emissions is a "major question" that demands congressional debate. but allowing the president to, with a flick of the wrist, end a straightforward constitutional right is something that must be allowed to stand?