About the Amoeba Sisters YouTube Channel:
The Amoeba Sisters is a YouTube channel started by sisters Sarina Peterson (a self-taught cartoonist) and Brianna Rapini (a former high school biology teacher) in July 2013. The channel specializes in teaching biology concepts at the high school level and beyond through engaging illustrated cartoons. At the center of the channel are the characters "Pinky" (Brianna) and "Petunia" (Sarina), two amoebas that guide viewers into the fascinating world of biology using humor and relevance. The two sisters formed Amoeba Sisters LLC and additionally create resources that complement their videos, such as their Unlectured Series.​ They continue to release a video monthly with the goal of providing general, foundational content knowledge, allowing more time for discussion, labs, and student creation.

Amoeba Sisters Channel Growth:
The channel grew unexpectedly and in the Fall 2017, it became necessary to work on the channel full-time. Run by only the sister team of two, the channel has grown to over 2 million subscribers with a cumulative view count of over 250 million (as of October 2024). Their online community has translated videos in over 22 different languages. The channel keeps track of their milestones on their milestone page.

​​Amoeba Sisters YouTube Channel Mission Statement:
To demystify science with humor and relevance via our creations (videos, GIFs, comics, resources).

Amoeba Sisters YouTube Channel Audience:
The Amoeba Sisters YouTube Channel is directed for high school biology (as Pinky is a former high school biology teacher); in addition, a public survey of over 26,000 viewers on their YouTube community tab in November 2019 also showed 37% of the responding audience as college/university students as many of these concepts (protein synthesis, mitosis, DNA replication, etc) are taught in introductory biology at the college level. The channel is for anyone wanting to learn biology.

Amoeba Sisters Creations:
Our new BOOK!
Biology Content Videos on YouTube
Biology Shorts on YouTube
​"Before the Bell Biology" Videos on YouTube
Video Recap Handouts 
​Amoeba Sisters Virtual Checks on PocketLab
Unlectured Series
GIFs
Paramecium Parlor Comics
Webtoons
Resources in Teachers Pay Teachers Store 
Art on Items in Redbubble and Spring Stores

Social Media:
Linktree: /amoebasisters
YouTube: @AmoebaSisters
Instagram: @AmoebaSistersOfficial
Facebook: @AmoebaSisters
TikTok: @AmoebaSistersOfficial
Twitter/X: @AmoebaSisters
Tumblr: @AmoebaSisters
​Pinterest: @AmoebaSisters

View Amoeba Sisters "Behind the Scenes" YouTube Short.

Amoeba Sisters Milestones:
Please see milestones page.
​

Amoeba Sisters Creators:

Brianna Rapini

​Current Work:

• Amoeba Sisters LLC 
  ​

Education:

• Bachelor of Science in Biology
• Master's in Educational Administration 
• Master's in Biological Sciences

​Work Prior to Amoeba Sisters LLC:

• 12 Years in public education 
  • AP /Pre-AP/ On-Level High School Biology Teacher
  • Instructional technology specialist
  • Science specialist and science coordinator

Sarina Peterson

Current Work:

• Amoeba Sisters LLC 
  ​

Education:

• Bachelor's in Economics
• Master's in Public Policy Analysis 

​Work Prior to Amoeba Sisters LLC:

• Program Analyst in a Texas public school district​

Some Online Mentions of the Amoeba Sisters Channel​

• Mentioned in an article by Washington Post (2024)
• Mentioned in an article by The New York Times (2020)
• Mentioned in an article by Bloomberg (2020)
• Shown on YouTube's blog on the YouTube Player for Education (2023)
• Mentioned in the YouTube Official Blog (2022) for US Teacher Appreciation Week
• Mentioned on the "United States of YouTube" as a channel based in Texas
• Interviewed by Podcasts Including "ScIC Science is Cool" Unplugged (2023), The Science Pawdcast (2020 episode here) and The Show About Science (2016 episode here)
• Mentioned here by the Alcade, a University of Texas Publication
• Mentioned by Master Teacher John Mead in his National Geographic Education blog post
• The Amoeba Sisters have presented sessions and keynotes at a variety of conferences: please see list here

Interesting Facts About the Amoeba Sisters YouTube Channel:

• Amoeba Sisters gets its name from the fact that the creators are actually sisters and that the organism amoeba, with its amorphous shape, was one of the easier organism types to draw as their characters. However, as pointed out on the about page, these are two very unique amoebas. Amoebas don't have eyes, stars on their heads, or heads...
• The main Amoeba Sisters characters - "Pinky" and "Petunia" - have had some gradual changes in their appearance over the years. Some of the changes include the stars on their heads. They stars have not only changed positions, but sometimes they sink into the cytoplasm, so only a few points are visible. You can see how the characters have changed on the milestones page.
• The personalities of the main Amoeba Sisters characters "Pinky" (Brianna) and "Petunia" (Sarina) are inspired by the sisters' own personality traits. 
• The sisters live over 200 miles from each other: one in the Houston, TX area and the other in the Dallas, TX area. They work with each other remotely.
• Script and voicing are done by "Pinky" (Brianna) and art and video editing are done by "Petunia" (Sarina). There are occasional videos where Petunia will talk such as the beginning of their microscopes video, but she generally prefers to focus on illustrating.
• "Petunia" (Sarina) has no formal training in art. Since the channel generally doesn't delete old videos, you can see the progression of her art from the very beginning on their milestone page.
• Video topics tend to be based on a high school biology concept or standard, and they're often suggested by the community. A topic is typically selected each month, occasionally by a vote.
• The channel has a YouTube biology learning playlist  ("learning playlist" feature was announced at VidCon in 2019) with over 80 videos.

Location:
Texas, USA 
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Contact Information:
Please see contact page