Spiders in Science: Be Kind to Spiders Week 2026
Let’s learn about spiders in science and the amazing arachnid advances being developed, researched and studied as we continue our 2026 Be Kind to Spiders Week celebrations. I have included online articles and videos I found particularly fascinating that discuss all the different ways Science is embracing my favorite eight-legged creature.
In case you are new here, I have a thing for spider documentaries and their representation in science fiction. I LOVE reading and watching all these research articles about what is happing in the world of spider science!
In full transparency, most of the links lead to YouTube videos and contain videos that average between 10 and 15 minutes. My family and I found them very consumable and easy to comprehend. There is no need to be an entomologist to understand them. Which tended to be the opposite when I looked into research articles to share.
Learn about the ways science is currently loving spiders:
▸10 Human Innovations Inspired by Spiders by ListVerse
This list showcases many current spider inspired inventions being studied. It is great to read through and even links to the research and articles they got their facts from.
▸Is Spider Silk the Future of Material Engineering by SciShow
If you prefer watching your science, this video goes over several of the innovations referenced in the prior video. I greatly enjoy SciShow’s delivery of information and have found several of their videos to be informative.
▸Spider Web Research Yields New Instrument by Oregon Field Guide
I know that scientists have extensively studied the vibrations of a spiders web, but had no idea this research has lead to the invention of an instrument. How cool is that?!
▸Turns Out, Spiders Use Electricity to Fly by SciShow
I thought I was done with spider videos from SciShow when I stumbled across this one from seven years ago. Did you know this? Because I still hear people say ballooning spiders ride on the wind, not that they create an electric field.
▸Why Jumping Spiders Have the Coolest Eyes in Nature by Be Smart
More than likely, you’ve encountered a jumping spider and they can see you! This video from PBS and Be Smart does an excellent job of breaking down how Jumpers can see in 16 minutes. If you’re curious to deep dive into this topic, I saw a 30 minute video discussing jumping spiders and color.
▸The Genius Spiders Changing How We Think About Brains by SciShow
As someone who has studied child development for 10 years, I love discussing cognitive comprehension and development and it was FASCINATING to tune into this video about rethinking the gauge on intelligence, especially with animals like spiders.
Do you have any spider science to share?
If you have any fun videos or articles to send my way, please do so by dropping them in the comments below.
