Mister C — Science Educator, PBS Host | Learning Should Be Fun | The Ferret, The Cliff Jump, and Reaching 1M Kids

What happens when a fifth-grade science teacher turns karaoke Christmas CDs into a full-blown PBS television career? You get Mister C — and a conversation packed with hair-raising science, toe-tapping music, and mind-blowing media.

We met Mister C at one of his live theater shows, and it was clear right away why we had to talk with him.

We cover his 15-year path through education (teacher → principal → STEM director), the leap of faith that turned "Mister C" into a full-time brand, how a kitchen pilot turned into 39 episodes of DIY Science Time on PBS, the philosophy of "fail fast, fail often," building a life and business alongside his wife of 23 years, surviving COVID by live-streaming from cell phones, and why he insists on being himself on stage rather than playing a character.

LINKS
Mister C's Website
Learning Science is Fun (YouTube)
DIY Science Time
WonderSTEM

Instagram: @OriginalMrC | TikTok: @LearningScienceisFun

REFERENCED
PBS Digital Innovator Program · PBS Learning Media · Full Steam Ahead (Think TV) · Alabama Public Television · Switcher Studio · Wright State University

TIMESTAMPS
0:00 — Cold open — Name Your Body Parts: internal organ edition
2:35 — Introducing Mister C (aka Kevin Cornell)
6:00 — From fifth-grade teacher to full-time "Mister C"
8:00 — Karaoke CDs, YouTube, and the birth of edutainment
11:15 — The PBS journey: Digital Innovator to DIY Science Time
15:40 — Pivoting during COVID — Facebook livestreams and Switcher Studio
20:30 — What inspires Mister C: "It's okay to fail"
28:00 — Scaling impact: from 70 kids a day to a million
32:00 — Jumping off the cliff: leaving education full-time
35:00 — Meet Mrs. C — 23 years, one pet ferret, and a true partnership
38:00 — Relationships at the center of it all
40:30 — Staying true to the mission
43:00 — What's next: WonderSTEM, new episodes, and mrc.live
45:30 — Joe and Rush — the walkaway

The Most Interesting Person in the World — hosted by Rush Witt & Joe Keller.