Carnegie Museum of Natural History Partners with TikTok to Create Educational Videos

PITTSBURGH, May 28, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Carnegie Museum of Natural History announces a partnership with TikTok as part of the Creative Learning Fund, a program designed to populate the social media platform with accessible and educational short-form mobile videos. The grant is a part of TikTok's $50M investment to bring more learning content to the platform. 

The museum's marketing team launched its TikTok account on January 6, 2020 with a snail joke from curator of mollusks Tim Pearce, who quickly became a TikTok icon. Since January, its following has grown from zero to over 148,500 with over 8 million video views and 2 million likes.

"I'm amazed (and pleased) that so many people are enjoying the snail jokes. I hope they are educational, too, and consciousness raising, and that they help people be more aware of these often-overlooked creatures with whom we share the planet," said Pearce. "All you snail TikTok fans are helping me with my plan to make snails more popular than football!"

Recently, Mary R. Dawson Associate Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology Matt Lamanna has begun to build a fan base with dinosaur facts filmed from home and a visit to check on the museum's signature dinosaur, Dippy, short for Diplodocus carnegii. With this new partnership, the museum is excited to build on existing success to introduce TikTok users from around the world to the museum's experts and educators.

"Carnegie Museum of Natural History's goal is to be as relevant as possible to our growing audiences," said Sloan MacRae, director of marketing, whose team creates most of the museum's digital content. "One obvious path to relevance is access, and that means producing content that is digestible and appealing. It also means reaching audiences where they physically are, namely glued to their screens amid the pandemic. I'm especially proud that we're entering this partnership with TikTok now, when demand for digital educational content is so high for individuals and schools alike."

The museum's partnership videos launched on May 13, 2020 at TikTok.com/@CarnegieMNH.

About TikTok
TikTok is the leading destination for short-form mobile video. Their mission is to inspire creativity and bring joy.

About Carnegie Museum of Natural History
Carnegie Museum of Natural History, one of the four Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, is among the top natural history museums in the country. The museum generates new scientific knowledge, advances science literacy, and inspires visitors of all ages to become passionate about science, nature, and world cultures. More information is available at carnegiemnh.org.

SOURCE Carnegie Museum of Natural History