From the Museum to YouTube: Museums Victoria’s Science is a Superpower

When Museums Victoria launched its Digital Content Studio in 2019, the goal was clear: to create bold, audience-first digital storytelling that would expand the museum’s reach far beyond its walls. Five years on, that vision has resulted in Science is a Superpower, an award-winning digital series that has now become a website, a suite of on-site workshops, and even a festival – all designed to spark curiosity and inspire future scientists.

Building a Digital-First Strategy

The Digital Content Studio was born from a new digital strategy that sought to reposition the museum’s online presence as more than a promotional tool. Led by Richard Greenhalgh and Jesse Taylor Smith, the studio took ownership of Museums Victoria’s YouTube channel and began producing videos and articles designed around what audiences actually wanted.

Rather than pushing generic content, the team built an audience-first framework, conducting research into viewing habits and interests, and then crafting content tailored to specific audience segments. Every project was designed to be modular: a long-form YouTube video could be repurposed into short clips for social media, all funneling audiences towards deeper articles on the museum’s website.

Experimentation was encouraged. From playful series like Is It Cute?, which introduced research concepts through light-hearted questions about animals, to creative animation techniques, the team pushed beyond traditional museum formats. This spirit of innovation laid the foundation for what would become their most ambitious project yet.

Science as a Superpower

In 2021, Museums Victoria ambassador Holly Ransom approached the team with a challenge: to create a project addressing the underrepresentation of women and non-binary people in STEM. The result was Science is a Superpower, a STEM-focused video series that used leadership skills as its framework – each one reframed as a “superpower.”

The first season, released in February 2023, featured five episodes on strength, kindness, calmness, energy, and curiosity. The concept was underpinned by a fictional persona – “Emily,” a 10–15-year-old girl – who acted as the benchmark for every creative decision. Would Emily find it fun? Would she feel inspired?

Testing with focus groups confirmed that Holly was a strong presenter and that the scrapbook-inspired design appealed to the target audience. Each episode showcased female scientists and museum professionals, ensuring the series moved beyond the cliché of male scientists in white coats.

Importantly, accessibility was central. Experiments used household items rather than lab equipment, and content was distributed as both full-length episodes and short clips. It was the latter that had the biggest impact: 96% of the 1.9 million views from season one came from shorter segments on social platforms.

From Screen to Museum Floor

While season one was designed as a digital-first series, its success soon extended into the physical museum. The project evolved into on-site workshops and culminated in a Science is a Superpower Festival, proving that digital storytelling could drive real-world engagement.

Teachers also became a key secondary audience. Feedback showed that while they valued the videos, the episodes were often too broad to slot easily into lessons. This insight shaped the approach to season two.

Season Two: Segment-First Production

Launched in February 2025, season two marked a strategic shift. Instead of building long episodes and cutting them down, the team worked in reverse – creating strong short segments first, aligning them with curriculum points, and then grouping them into themed episodes.

The themes – adaptability, resilience, connection, perception, and ingenuity – were structured as “Guess the Superpower” challenges, giving the episodes a playful, interactive feel. For teachers, the curriculum mapping meant segments could be easily slotted into classrooms, while for young audiences, the clue-based storytelling kept them engaged.

This segment-first strategy also ensured the museum could release a steady stream of content across the year, keeping the project visible and fresh. In total, season two produced 180 short videos in addition to the five full episodes.

Inspiring the Future

Across both seasons, Science is a Superpower has already amassed more than 3.2 million views. Its impact lies not just in the numbers, but in how it reimagines museum content: playful, audience-driven, and designed to be both inspiring and useful.

By showcasing real scientists – many of them women – working on meaningful projects, the series offers young audiences a new vision of who can succeed in STEM. And by aligning digital-first storytelling with classroom resources and on-site experiences, Museums Victoria has created a multi-layered initiative that continues to grow.

As Greenhalgh and Taylor Smith reflect, the ethos remains simple: make science relevant, engaging, and accessible, while presenting diverse role models who can inspire the next generation. Or, as the project’s call to action puts it: keep science-ing.

You can find links to all the Science is a Superpower films on the Museums Victoria website, here.

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Richard Greenhalgh and Jesse Taylor Smith from Museums Victoria spoke about their work with YouTube at the Digital Museums Summit 2025.