Date of publication
Jul 29, 2024
Category:
Article
The power of dinosaurs: lessons learned from the sharing of #SciArt on Twitter
by
Laerie McNeil
,
Chantal Barriault
,
Birha Farooqi
,
Ian Black
,
Ann Pegoraro
,
Thomas J. S. Merritt
We used netnographic analysis to outline a structure of the #SciArt community on Twitter/X finding a surprising interest in dinosaurs, even in the midst of a pandemic. Recently, SciArt, broadly, science-themed art, has gained attention among science communicators for its ability to engage a wide range of audiences in scientific findings. We gained insights into how paleoart passes between and among audiences and explored the phenomena of perennially popular dinosaur-themed works of SciArt in popular science communication. We discussed these effects and how they could be used to engage people with SciArt in science communication efforts.