https://doi.org/10.1177/17468477231182914 animation: an interdisciplinary journal 2023, Vol. 18(2) 152–166 © The Author(s) 2023 Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions DOI: 10.1177/17468477231182914 journals.sagepub.com/home/anm Animation of Experiment: The Science Education Film and Useful Animation in China Muyang Zhuang Division of Humanities, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, NT, Hong Kong SAR Abstract From the early 1950s to the mid-1990s, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) produced numerous science education films. Many utilized animated effects, such as illustrations, maps and cartoons, to promote the reception of scientific knowledge and ideological messages by audiences. Current scholarship on Chinese animation history stresses films made by the Shanghai Animation Film Studio, neglecting animation created by filmmakers in science education film studios. In this article, the author argues that the history of useful animation in science education films provides a different approach to understanding Chinese animation as the animation of experiment. Animation functioned as scenes of experiment that enabled science education films to deliver messages of knowledge; they also inspired amateur experiment with animated filmmaking and experimental animation practices in the post-socialist era. This article analyses animation for science education films, amateur animation practices and experimental works inspired by, or that benefited from, science education filmmaking. It will enrich the scholarship on Chinese animation and shed new light on the history of Chinese animation and film culture in the PRC. Keywords Chinese animation, experimental animation, knowledge production, science education film, useful animation During the global pandemic, animation has been widely used in charity videos for propagating public health knowledge, such as in the UNICEF’s (2021) video in response to COVID-19 in east- ern and southern Africa. These animations depict the look of the coronavirus, the danger caused by it and the significance of social distancing. In fact, animation, like the cinema, was employed in Corresponding author: Muyang Zhuang, Division of Humanities, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Room 3001, Academic Building, Clear Water Bay, NT, Hong Kong SAR. Emails: mzhuangac@ust.hk; muyangzhuang@hotmail.com 1182914ANM 0 0 10.1177/17468477231182914animation: an interdisciplinary journalZhuang research-article 2023 Article