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Who are the Amoeba Sisters?
We are two amoebas who teach science on YouTube. (But if you're curious, a little more information here). |
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What on Earth is an amoeba?
You can learn more about what amoebas really are in our video here. We'd like to point out that others of our species do not tend to be pink or purple colored. They also do not have eyes, stars on their heads...or heads... |
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What do you do?
We aren't typical amoebas. We create science YouTube videos, GIFs, comics, and resources (such as our Unlectured series). You can find all of these creations on, or linked to, this website. Our science videos on YouTube make up the bulk of our work. |
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But who are you in real life?
In our human form, we are two sisters from Texas.
In our human form, we are two sisters from Texas.
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Petunia is the creator of the comics and GIFs. She times the comics to Pinky's audio to create the videos. Petunia has no training in art and learned to draw mainly from YouTube. You can see the progression of her art on the milestone page. She (arguably) has a better sense of humor than her sister counterpart. Petunia is interested in gaming and using games in STEM education.
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Pinky writes the scripts, records her voice, and designs resources to complement the videos. She has a biology degree, a public high school science teaching background, and a passion for using EdTech to involve students as creators. She is interested in science communication and closely follows the Twitter #scicomm hashtag.
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Sisters from left to right: Sarina Peterson ("Petunia") and Brianna Rapini ("Pinky")
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How come only one of you talks in the Amoeba Sisters videos?
We both focus on our passions so much that Petunia prefers to practice her love of drawing and Pinky prefers to practice her love of teaching. If we switched roles, we would have to subject everyone to iguanas and silky bantam chickens illustrated by Pinky. No one wants that. ;) But...if you need proof that Petunia talks, please check out Petunia's speed draw video. |
Click above to visit our Amoeba Sister webtoon!
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Why did you start this channel?
In the summer of 2013, Pinky was reflecting on her years teaching in the high school classroom and was looking for a way to help make the lengthy traditional lectures she was accustomed to using less...lengthy. She had observed that it was often during her traditional lectures and notes where she found her students' curiosity dwindled and more classroom management challenges arose, at least in her classroom. She mentioned this to her sister one summer evening, and the brainstorming session resulted in an idea for making a video on enzymes. You can learn more about the very beginnings of our channel here and the tools we use to create our videos here.
In the summer of 2013, Pinky was reflecting on her years teaching in the high school classroom and was looking for a way to help make the lengthy traditional lectures she was accustomed to using less...lengthy. She had observed that it was often during her traditional lectures and notes where she found her students' curiosity dwindled and more classroom management challenges arose, at least in her classroom. She mentioned this to her sister one summer evening, and the brainstorming session resulted in an idea for making a video on enzymes. You can learn more about the very beginnings of our channel here and the tools we use to create our videos here.
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So are you both crazy about science?
Pinky has been crazy about science since the beginning of childhood. Petunia started to develop a love for science when she could make it more applicable to her. When she started drawing as a hobby and explored how to connect it to her own interests, she started to develop a curiosity for science. But Pinky is still more science obsessed... |
Click above to go to our Amoeba Sisters webtoon!
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What keeps you motivated to create?
Purpose. We find great purpose in demystifying science with our creations, and we love to empower teacher and student creators. Therefore, hearing that our work is helpful in education is especially motivating. We also have learned so much from others, and we have developed friendships in this journey. Pinky's last year teaching in-person in the high school biology classroom was the 2016-2017 school year, but she finds social media is amazing for staying connected in science teaching. Our favorite article on this topic is by an awesome educator, John Mead.
Purpose. We find great purpose in demystifying science with our creations, and we love to empower teacher and student creators. Therefore, hearing that our work is helpful in education is especially motivating. We also have learned so much from others, and we have developed friendships in this journey. Pinky's last year teaching in-person in the high school biology classroom was the 2016-2017 school year, but she finds social media is amazing for staying connected in science teaching. Our favorite article on this topic is by an awesome educator, John Mead.
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Do you have suggestions for how to best use your videos?
As we've grown, our goal is that our short videos (always less than 10 minutes) can provide foundation information so that there is more time for the valuable class experiences of hands-on labs, classroom discussion, and involving students in creating! Check out our "3 Creative Ways to Use Our Edu Videos" (designed for teachers) or our "Study Tips, Motivation, and Our Biology Playlist" video (designed for students). |
Click to see our video above- designed for teachers.
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Click to see our video above- designed for students.
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Why amoebas?
Why NOT amoebas? :D Petunia loves cartoons, and most cartoons have main characters. We wanted that for our videos. Amoebas are amusing and super easy to draw with their blobby figure. But on that note, you really do not need to be able to draw or have any special talents to create. Petunia has no artistic training. You just have to get started. Trust us on that. We are better than we were when we started in 2013. We're life-long learning amoebas. |
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Besides making videos, any major projects right now?
We're always working on other projects! Here are some of the recent big ones. In 2018:
In 2019:
In 2020:
In addition, we still have many biology topics to cover for future videos. We don't think you will have to worry about us running out of any topics soon ;) |
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Do you present on how teachers can create videos for their classroom?
Sometimes. We are very interested in empowering both teachers and students as creators. Our presentations show strategies for involving teachers and students in video/GIF creation while maximizing valuable classroom time.
Sometimes. We are very interested in empowering both teachers and students as creators. Our presentations show strategies for involving teachers and students in video/GIF creation while maximizing valuable classroom time.
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What do amoebas do for fun? Do you have hobbies?
For Pinky, science is also a hobby. Pinky also loves spending time with her amoeba family, the outdoors, and running (pseudopodia) marathons. She is also working on some post-master's coursework and caring for baby #2. Petunia prefers the indoors like gaming, reading, and eating plankton. She recently had her first baby! Occasionally, we are traveling amoebas. But...not that often. |
Click above to visit our Amoeba Sisters webtoon!
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Besides this website, where else does your work exist?
Well, definitely on YouTube. But we also have Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Tumblr. Oh and Pinterest. Unfortunately, amoebas are not very good at consistently remembering to pin things though. :/
Well, definitely on YouTube. But we also have Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Tumblr. Oh and Pinterest. Unfortunately, amoebas are not very good at consistently remembering to pin things though. :/
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Who is Gus? I see people ask about Gus?
Gus is our pet Euglena! He sometimes makes an appearance in our work. You can learn more about him here. |
Click above to visit our Amoeba Sisters webtoon!
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Are you ever going to stop making protist jokes?
Probably not.
Probably not.
