Ten years ago, Wiki Education launched the Wikipedia Year of Science, the first large-scale campaign to involve US and Canadian higher education institutions in the efforts to improve Wikipedia content in underdeveloped areas.
It was an ambitious idea built on simple reasoning. Millions of people turn to Wikipedia every day to learn and to make decisions, and a better Wikipedia means a more informed public.
Throughout 2016, thousands of postsecondary students improved Wikipedia’s existing science coverage and created new articles through their Wikipedia assignments with Wiki Education, sharing their classroom learnings with a worldwide audience. The student editors made an incredible impact on Wikipedia’s coverage of the sciences while developing their research, writing, and science communication skills along the way.
By the end of the year, it had become the largest targeted content initiative ever undertaken in the Wikimedia world. More than 6,300 students edited more than 5,700 articles on STEM topics and added nearly 5 million words to the free encyclopedia — about 3.5 volumes of the final print Encyclopaedia Britannica. And as it turned out, this was just the beginning.
As the name implies, the Wikipedia Year of Science was planned as a single, focused year. Instead, it became the foundation for Communicating Science on Wikipedia, Wiki Education’s now decade-long initiative that has empowered 70,000 new editors to take part in improving coverage of STEM content and biographies.
In addition to the thousands of postsecondary students who have participated over the years, this group of contributors also includes the science professionals who join our editing courses, bringing their expertise and resources to help fill gaps in Wikipedia’s STEM coverage. Many have participated through organizations that partner with Wiki Education, including the American Physical Society, 500 Women Scientists, the Society of Family Planning, and the New York Academy of Sciences.
Together, students and scientists have added 62.4 million words and 632,000 references to Wikipedia over the past decade.
Pick a topic in the sciences — odds are, this group of editors have improved it! From little-known species of plants and animals, to genetics, outer space, and biographies for underrepresented figures in STEM, the content areas have been as widespread as the participants themselves.
And it’s not just about how much they’ve written. Beyond the contributor numbers are the readers who visit Wikipedia to satiate curiosities, make decisions, and better understand the world around them. Collectively, Communicating Science on Wikipedia contributions have been viewed 3.59 billion times.
We express our deep gratitude to the funders who have made this work possible, and to each individual contributor who has helped make Wikipedia’s coverage of the sciences more accurate, representative, and complete. Here’s to another 10 years of Communicating Science on Wikipedia!
Next week, join our upcoming Speaker Series webinar as we celebrate and reflect on the initiative’s impact so far, then consider what the next decade could bring for communicating science on Wikipedia:
Communicating Science on Wikipedia
Thursday, October 8, 2026
1 pm Pacific / 4 pm Eastern
Zoom Registration
Panelists:
- Alexandra Lau, American Physical Society
- Cecelia Musselman, Northeastern University
- Glenn Dolphin, University of Calgary
- Michael Benjamin, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
- Ian Ramjohn, moderator, Wiki Education
Interested in incorporating a Wikipedia assignment into your course? Visit teach.wikiedu.org to learn more about the free resources, digital tools, and staff support that Wiki Education offers to postsecondary instructors in the United States and Canada.
Interested in learning how to add your expertise to Wikipedia? Explore Wiki Education’s upcoming courses for subject-area experts.
