Educational YouTube channels are plentiful if you’re open to the idea. YouTube is not the enemy when it comes to your teens and tweens. And neither are screens.
I know, I know. You grew up in a time when you watched Tom & Jerry cartoons after school until you had to do your homework. On a piece of looseleaf paper. Then you waited until Saturday morning to watch TV again, after which you were kicked out of the house with a simple directive, GO PLAY OUTSIDE.
I don’t know what we did outside but we never wanted to come in. I sound like I grew up in the 50s but we literally would ride our bikes (at least a mile away), climb trees, make mudpies, and create elaborate games of tag. As much as we long for those days, they’re over. And as much as we wish our kids could experience that time, they won’t.
Yes, this past year has been a year to be reckoned with and school looked less and less familiar. But it’s been heading in a more technological direction for a while. A pandemic is just the catalyst to move things along.
Chances are your kids are already using videos to learn just about everything. Yes, my son used YouTube to learn every single solitary aspect of Minecraft. But he also learned how to make a vegan tofu stir fry and sourdough bread. And he’s learning about quantum physics and Julius Caesar. All from YouTube.
Now, I’m not saying there isn’t plenty of crap on YouTube. You can waste hours on there following any given rabbit hole (ask me how I know). Personally, I prefer to look up information on the internet, scan an article, and get my information. But this next generation absorbs video content. So why not steer them in the right direction?
Here are my top-rated picks for educational YouTube channels for tweens and teens.
Science YouTube Channels
Veritasium
Veritasium sounds like a chemical element. And channel founder, Dr. Derek Mueller, intended that. He cites his channel as “an element of truth – videos about science, education, and anything else I find interesting.” It’s really a science and engineering channel designed to answer interesting questions featuring experiments, expert interviews, cool demos, and discussions with the public about everything science.
Here’s a sample:
Who’s behind the channel? Dr. Derek Muller is a bit of a celebrity scientist having appeared with astrophysicists like Neil deGrasse Tyson and Michio Kaku. Muller has has his degree in Engineering Physics from Queen’s University in Canada, and a PhD in physics education research at the University of Sydney.
Is there merch available? Not exactly. But you can purchase his Kickstarter-funded project, Snatoms, a magnetic molecule kit.
Anton Petrov
Anton Petrov is the person behind this aptly named YouTube channel where, according to him, “I explain science, math or other complicated topics using simulations, video games and easy to understand words. This channel’s focus is science education with occasional space video game, technology topic or programming/coding.”
He’s a former math teacher and works heavily in the coding and programming space. His YouTube videos use video games for educational purposes and include topics, like Astronomy, Biological and Physical sciences, Computer science and programming, Math, and Technology.
Here’s a sample:
Who’s behind the channel? Anton Petrov, obviously. He speaks English, Russian, and French and believes in using gaming for entertainment and education.
Is there merch available? You bet. You can find merch with his “Hello Wonderful Person” catchphrase right here.
PBS Space Time
With the backing of a network like PBS, you know there’s some serious education going on here. But this channel is designed specifically for those interested in exploring more about astrophysics.
Episodes are released every Wednesday by the current host, Dr. Matt O’Dowd. His resume makes him a pretty impressive YouTube host. Matt completed his Ph.D. at NASA’s Space Telescope Science Institute, followed by work at the University of Melbourne and Columbia University. He’s now a professor at the City University of New York’s Lehman College and an Associate at the American Museum of Natural History’s Hayden Planetarium.
Here’s a sample:
Who’s behind the channel? This is an officially sanctioned PBS Digital Studio series, geared toward for teachers and students.
Is there merch available? You bet! Find all your space-time merch here: https://www.pbsspacetime.com/shop
Vsauce
Not to be confused with the also popular Vsauce 2 or Vsauce3 channels, Vsauce1 is the brainchild of Michael Stevens who created the channel to “feed the curious and illuminate the amazing.” The videos cover scientific, psychological, mathematical, and philosophical topics, as well as gaming, technology, popular culture, and other general interest subjects.
Here’s a sample:
Who’s behind the channel? Michael Stevens is one of the original YouTube superstars. He launched his channel in 2020 and found his educational content resonated the most and has continued to deliver in his various areas of interest.
Is there merch available? Not exactly. Although you can find some Michael Stevens/Vsauce merch at Redbubble, it’s all fan-generated. These days, he’s promoting his subscription box for thinkers at The Curiosity Box.
History YouTube Channels
Oversimplified
To put it plainly, this is a channel that explains thing in an oversimplified manner. Mostly history. So if you have a youngster that thinks history is boring (that was me way back when), start with an oversimplified video, usually 15 minutes or so, on topics like World War I, World War II, the American Civil War, the French Revolution, and the Cold War.
Here’s a sample:
Who’s behind the channel? No one really knows but he’s rumored to work in film and TV production and only produces a handful of videos a year due to the complexity of editing.
Is there merch available? Of course. Check out the Oversimplified.tv website for a link to their merch.
Voices of the Past
“Voices of the Past is an attempt to tell the story of our species through the written accounts of the very people who lived through it.” Here you’ll find dramatic readings of history texts and other primary sources presented in documentary style. Stories include both the great figures of history and the lesser known witnesses of great events. Consider it first hand accounts brought into the modern age.
Here’s a sample:
Who’s behind the channel? UK brothers David and Pete make up The History Brothers who each their own channel on YouTube.
Is there merch available? Sadly, no, not that I can find.
Formosa
This history-based channel proves that you don’t have to have a mega-budget to make interesting content. All videos are time lapses of map changes all over the world, as a result of war and conflict. It’s a great visual aid to understand how boundaries around the globe have changed and continue to change.
Here’s a sample:
Who’s behind the channel? Unknown (but presumably someone that’s interested in history and maps)
Is there merch available? Nope.
Cottereau
Similar to Formosa, this channels is designed to show visual changes in the world with animated maps and data visualizations. It’s more than geography. It’s geopolitical and societal in nature, showing timelines, facts, and maps.
Here’s a sample:
Who’s behind the channel? Someone named Cottereau who clearly enjoys sharing data!
Is there merch available? Nope.
A Little Bit of Everything
Crash Course
Looking for high quality education videos for free? You’ve found it. The Crash Course team has produced more than 32 courses on a wide variety of subjects, including organic chemistry, literature, world history, biology, philosophy, theater, ecology, and many more! Designed for both students and teachers to be used either in the classroom or as enrichment.
Here’s a sample:
Who’s behind the channel? Brothers John and Hank Green started the channel to make education content for world history and biology but quickly grew the channel recruiting guest hosts to help create content on a wide variety of subjects.
Is there merch available? They’d love your support through their Patreon, which occasionally offers merch discounts. But if you’re strictly looking for Crash Course merch, you can find it at DFTBA.
The Slo-Mo Guys
Sometimes education, sometimes purely entertaining, these videos film wide variety of things in extreme slow motion using a range of Vision Research Phantom high-speed cameras, capable of shooting over 380,000 frames per second. It’s educational because kids (and adults) will want to watch it and the powers of observation help you better understand the natural and physical phenomenon in motion.
Here’s a sample:
Who’s behind the channel? Gavin Free and Daniel Gruchy are the masterminds behind the show. Free, a British actor, serves as the cinematographer and camera operator, and Gruchy, a former explosives expert in the British Army, as the rigger and often also as the stuntman.
Is there merch available? Most definitely! You can find an assortment of Slo Mo Guys apparel on their merch site.
D!NG
Are there Vsauce fans in your household looking for more content? If Vsauce1, Vsauce2, and Vsauce 3 weren’t enough, you can tune in to D!NG, from the creators of all three. Formerly DONG (Do Online Now Guys), D!NG features unusual pages, apps, and games from around the Internet. Think of it as fun facts and weird tricks rooted in science. (Here’s one of my favorite web pages: https://neal.fun/logos-from-memory/)
Here’s a sample:
Who’s behind the channel? Michael Stevens, Kevin Lieber, and Jake Roper – all Vsauce hosts – take turns with content along with a team of writers, editors, and VFX experts.
Is there merch available? As with the Vsauce channels, they’re funneling their fans to their subscription box for thinkers at The Curiosity Box.
***
If I’ve missed some of your favorite educational YouTube channels, please share and I’ll update and new content is always being created!
