Made in Buffalo in 2018, the series answered what its creator called a lack of culturally relevant STEM material for underrepresented minorities
Baxter, right, interviews a guest in a still from the Raven the Science Maven web series, spring 2018. Photo: Raven the Science Maven
In April 2018, Raven Baxter launched Raven the Science Maven, a weekly science education web series she created, wrote and hosted in Buffalo, N.Y. Episodes ran on YouTube and Facebook.
Early episodes were interviews. Baxter sat down with Buffalo college students and STEM professionals to talk about their studies and careers. Her website billed the show as "weekly adventures in science, technology, engineering, and math" under the tagline "STEM Entertainment for the Culture."
The series arrived as researchers documented gaps in who works in science. In January 2018, the Pew Research Center reported that Black workers made up 11% of the U.S. workforce but 9% of STEM workers. Hispanic workers were 16% of the workforce and 7% of STEM workers. Young adults were also on YouTube. In March, Pew found that 94% of Americans ages 18 to 24 used YouTube.
Baxter's on-screen alter ego, Raven the Science Maven, was a play on Bill Nye the Science Guy. According to Baxter, it was "created in response to a lack of culturally relevant material that engages underrepresented minorities about STEM education," SUNY Buffalo State reported.
The idea grew out of her doctoral studies. She later told Buffalo State that she kept returning to one question, how to bring underrepresented children in local schools into STEM classrooms and, in time, STEM careers.
Baxter in a college teaching lab in early 2018, in a still posted on the series' website. Photo: Raven the Science Maven
The series page promised "Engaging and Insightful Interviews with STEM Students and Professionals" and "Vibrant and Entertaining STEM Education." Alongside the interviews, Baxter filmed hands-on experiments and lessons in a college teaching lab. A "Science Saturday" segment covered science news. One June 2018 Science Saturday episode covered the plan for a U.S. Space Force.
Her bio page that year stated the mission. She wrote that "it is especially important to me that I help minorities feel welcome to learn in any educational space, particularly in STEM." "The goal of RTSM is to spread enthusiasm for STEM and education to everyone in the world, and to champion play and exploration of the world around us."
The work fed into her research. Buffalo State reported that Baxter was integrating her experience as the Science Maven into her doctoral research on culturally relevant pedagogy. Her dissertation studied science communication through hip-hop.
Baxter went on to make other video series. In 2020 she launched STEMbassy, a live STEM talk show. In 2021 she filmed the career series Nerdy Jobs, released in 2023.
Baxter was then a Ph.D. student in curriculum, instruction and the science of learning at the University at Buffalo and an academic adviser at SUNY Buffalo State. She had started sharing science online in 2016, the start of the Raven the Science Maven platform. She completed the degree in February 2022.
The 2018 series page is preserved in the Internet Archive.
Dr. Raven Baxter reports from the launch of the Planetary Health Check 2026 at Climate Week NYC, where she interviewed climate scientist Johan Rockström and former Unilever chief executive Paul Polman.
Dr. Raven Baxter reports from the 81st UN General Assembly in New York, from the SDG Media Zone at UN Headquarters and the Unstoppable Africa business forum.
Dr. Raven Baxter launched The Science of Life, her newsletter on Substack, on Sept. 2, 2026, with a post answering thousands of comments on a crocodile's virgin birth.
