When I was growing up, we had discovery channel. That sparked my intrinsic curiousity. My daughter has that intrinsic motivation as well, but only for k-pop now. She likes youtube videos and she likes when I tell her about science stuff. Maybe I can combine that by recommending her some good youtube channels.
Lots of great recommendations already, but I haven’t seen mention of Nebula, and I was looking for something like it last year.
I’m not affiliated with Nebula, I’m just a fan.
I look for ways to support creators more while supporting Google less, and Nebula is my favorite for science video creators, at the moment.
Some of the creators recommended here also post to Nebula with ad-free versions of the same videos and with a little bit of extra content (think DVD bonus features) - slightly longer videos, sometimes extra or extended interviews with interesting people.
And pretty much any creator who is on Nebula will say so at some point in their YouTube videos.
Slop for my horses. Used AI to parse the comments and make a cohesive list with it’s best shot at links
Then hand checked the links, fixed any broken ones I could find.
The classifications to the right are AI generated, feel free to comment and have me change things.
- 3Blue1Brown (Grant Sanderson) — math; advanced
- Alexis Dahl — science/history; kid‑friendly
- AlphaPhoenix — physics/engineering; advanced
- Amateur Chemistry — various chemistry, some dangerous
- Anton Petrov — astronomy/space; kid‑friendly but dense
- Atomic Frontier — physics/engineering; kid‑friendly
- Beakmans World — general science; kid‑friendly, high‑energy also Internet Archive
- Becky Smethurst (Dr Becky) — astrophysics; kid‑friendly
- Bill Nye — general science; kid‑friendly also archive
- Bob MacDonald (Quirks & Quarks) — general science; kid‑friendly
- BobbyBroccoli — science history/controversies; sometimes heavy topics
- Carl Sagan (Cosmos) — astronomy; kid‑friendly
- Chemical Force — chemistry; dangerous experiments
- Chubbyemu — medical case studies; sometimes intense
- Cleo Abram (Huge if True) — science/tech explainers; highly accessible
- Computerphile — computer science; kid‑friendly
- COSMOS (Neil deGrasse Tyson) — properly on Netflix, astronomy; kid‑friendly
- Crash Course — general education; kid‑friendly
- David Butler (HowFarAwayIsIt) — astronomy/cosmology; kid‑friendly
- Dr Angela Collier — physics; advanced
- Dr Iain Stewart — geology/earth science; kid‑friendly
- Dr Karl Kruszelnicki — general science; kid‑friendly
- Dr Pamela Gay astronomy; kid‑friendly
- Emily Calandrelli (The Space Gal) — space/engineering; kid‑friendly
- Emily the Engineer — engineering/maker; mild language possible
- Explosions and Fire — chemistry/physics; dangerous experiments
- ExTrAcTiOnS aNd IrE — chemistry; dangerous experiments
- Fascinating Horror — disasters; not science education; sometimes intense
- Fraser Cain — astronomy/space news; kid‑friendly
- Gutsick Gibbon (Erika) — biology/evolution; kid‑friendly
- Hannah Fry — math; kid‑friendly
- HowFarAwayIsIt (David Butler) — astronomy; kid‑friendly
- Hyperspace Pirate — chemistry; dangerous experiments
- Isaac Arthur (SFIA) — futurism/space; advanced
- James Burke (Connections) — history of science; kid‑friendly
- Jeremy Fielding — engineering/maker; kid‑friendly
- Jeri Ellsworth — electronics/engineering; advanced
- Journey to the Microcosmos — microbiology; kid‑friendly
- Kyle Hill — physics/pop‑science; sometimes dark topics
- Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell — general science; sometimes heavy existential topics
- Labcoatz — chemistry; dangerous experiments
- Laura Kampf — maker/engineering; kid‑friendly
- Mark Rober — engineering/science; kid‑friendly
- Medlife Crisis — medicine; adult themes possible
- MinuteEarth — earth science; kid‑friendly
- MinutePhysics — physics; kid‑friendly
- Monterey Bay Aquarium — marine biology; kid‑friendly
- Mr. Green Guy — chemistry; dangerous experiments
- Mr. Wizard (Don Herbert) — general science; kid‑friendly
- Myron Cook — geology; kid‑friendly
- MythBusters — engineering/physics; occasional mild violence HULU and MAX
- NileRed — chemistry; dangerous experiments
- NileBlue — chemistry; dangerous experiments
- NOVA (PBS) — general science; kid‑friendly
- Numberphile — math; kid‑friendly
- PBS Eons — paleontology/evolution; kid‑friendly
- PBS Space Time — physics/astronomy; advanced
- PBS Terra — climate science; sometimes heavy topics
- Periodic Videos — chemistry; dangerous experiments
- Physics for the Birds — physics; kid‑friendly
- Physics Girl (Dianna Cowern) — physics; kid‑friendly
- Practical Engineering — civil engineering; kid‑friendly
- Rational Animations — math/logic; kid‑friendly
- Richard Feynman (lectures) — physics; advanced
- SciShow — general science; kid‑friendly
- Science and Futurism with Isaac Arthur — futurism/space; advanced
- Science Max — general science; kid‑friendly
- Scott Manley — space/rocketry; kid‑friendly
- Sebastian Lague — computational physics; kid‑friendly
- Simone Giertz — engineering/maker; mild language
- Smarter Every Day (Destin Sandlin) — physics/engineering; kid‑friendly
- Stand‑up Maths (Matt Parker) — math; kid‑friendly
- Steve Mould — physics; kid‑friendly
- Stuff Made Here — engineering; kid‑friendly but complex
- Styropyro — lasers/physics; dangerous experiments
- Technology Connections — engineering/tech history; kid‑friendly
- The Action Lab — physics/chemistry demos; sometimes dangerous experiments
- The Crash Course — Large educational project, cross disciplinary; kid-friendly
- The Octopus Lady — marine biology; kid‑friendly
- The Royal Institution — general science; kid‑friendly
- The Thought Emporium — DIY science/biology; dangerous experiments
- This Week in Science — science news; kid‑friendly
- Up and Atom (Jade Tan‑Holmes) — math/physics; kid‑friendly
- Veritasium (Derek Muller) — physics/general science; kid‑friendly
- Vi Hart — original channel gone, linked to someone re-uploading, quality is marginal, math; kid‑friendly
- VSauce — general science/philosophy; sometimes heavy concepts
- Xyla Foxlin — engineering/maker; mild language
- Ze Frank — biology/nature; kid‑friendly but sometimes emotionally heavy
Added from posts: Fraser Cain, The Crash Course, Beakman’s World, Cleo Abram
Added from my own list: nile blue, my green guy, hyperspace pirate, smarter every day, jeremy fielding, stuff made here, laura kamph, jerri ellsworth
Well I was closer to 6 and 7, but I grew up with Mr. Wizard. He was probably Bill Nye’s inspiration. Unpatronizing, simple, and straightforward science for kids. Man was a national treasure.
Crash Course is great. https://thecrashcourse.com/
you tube has pbs space time, nova, terra and the sci show along with others.
Seconding this. PBS has a TON of YouTube channels for all kinds of interest areas. Not all are going to be geared to a middle school audience, but much like the TV stations themselves, at least you don’t have to worry as much* about the potential content as a parent (in terms of quality or appropriateness) vs random YouTube channels.
*I would say all their stuff is high school appropriate, but some of the more local/news-related stuff could be a bad fit for younger audiences depending on the kid, only because we don’t live in a world that’s child-friendly. Also channels like PBS Terra do a lot of videos about how fucked we are re: climate change (not in so many words of course) and although they do try to put an optimistic spin on it, sensitive kids might get freaked out by how bad things are (which would be an accurate response of course, so it depends on how much you’ve been trying to shelter your kid from this kind of thing I guess).
I was about 12 or 13 when my parents taped a series from TV called “Connections” featuring a historian called James Burke. I’ve probably watched it over 30 times since and have shared it with my daughter (then about 8, now 13).
Anytime she’s home sick from school, that’s what she wants to watch with me now. Highly recommended.
Physics girl on YouTube, even though she hasn’t made any content anymore for years due to long term Covid, she’s still recovering, but her videos were always very inspiring, very happy and curiosity inducing
Lots of good channel suggestions.
But I would also nominate COSMOS.
Both the original hosted by Carl Sagan, and the new series with Neil deGrasse Tyson.
For me, they brought the epicness of reality, scientific history, and the vastness of the universe, into focus in a way nothing else did.
They made me feel a hopeful and powerful “humanity is fucking AWESOME, and can do INCREDIBLE things”. It’s not just informative. It lights a fire in you for the way humanity fights its way through the dark, using the scientific method as our guide.
I would Anton Petrov. Good 10 to 15 minute videos on science and astronomy and current events. https://m.youtube.com/@whatdamath
Dr Becky (aka Dr Rebecca Smethurst) for Astrophysics / Space news.
Any of the channels run by Brady Haran like Numberphile and Periodic Videos.
Most of my other picks have been mentioned already or else lean into spectacle which might not be appreciated by a 12-year-old girl. (Quite a few of the chemistry channels I watch are like this. In order of decreasing silliness: Nile Blue / Nile Red, Labcoatz, Amateur Chemistry, Chemical Force… Actually CF is pretty good by comparison.)
But I’m not you or your daughter. Check them out anyway and see if either of you likes what you see.
Since I didn’t see many creators who are women, here are a few recommendations:
The Space Gal (Emily Calandrelli)
Emily the Engineer (content can be pretty rough - profanity and simulated danger)
SciShow is good people making science content aimed at a general audience.
In addition to SciShow, PBS Eons is a good watch. Shout out to The Octopus Lady and The Monterey Bay Aquarium as well!
Literally all of https://m.youtube.com/c/crashcourse too.
Carl fucking Sagan.
Science Max: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbprhISv-0ReKPPyhf7-Dtw
Also Myth Busters - not sure if available on YouTube, we ripped the DVDs long ago. Most episodes are pretty PC but some are definitely not appropriate so vetting required.
What episode of Mythbusters is remotely inappropriate for a 12 year old? It’s a family program.
My 12 yr old son is pretty sensitive to pigs being blown up for example but I guess not everyone is. The infamous torture episode also comes to mind, we didn’t show him that one. I’m just saying that it’s up to the parents.
