cross-posted from: https://retrofed.com/c/nostupidquestions@lemmy.ca/p/2196841/what-are-some-awesome-science-youtube-channels-for-preteens

I have a younger sibling who watches YouTube all day, and I have just installed (among other things, including Fedora KDE!) FreeTube on their laptop, and it has a convenient profiles feature to separate, for instance, educational and not so educational content.

What are some good sciencey channels that are easy to follow and are run be nice people (rather than bots or similar)? I've got SciShow, Clint's Reptiles, and a few others already, but what are some good ones that you all know? They are currently interested in animals, particularly sea creatures and reptiles, but other topics are fun too (history, chemistry, CS, whatever are all good!)

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[–] 12 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 child)
  • [–] 8 points 1 month ago (2 children)

    NileRed and NileBlue for Chemistry.

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  • [–] 7 points 1 month ago* (3 children)

    Steve Mould: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEIwxahdLz7bap-VDs9h35A

    Would also definitely recommend Terrestrials, Radiolab's "family friendly nature podcast": https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolab-kids

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  • [–] 6 points 1 month ago (3 children)

    Now keep in mind it's been years since my son was young. But Mark Rober is pretty entertaining, the backyard scientist used to be one of my son's favorites (though looks like he hasn't been active in a about 5 years, but he's got a pretty good back catalog),

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  • [–] 5 points 1 month ago

    Daily dose of science. They post about once a week and there is usually one or two detailed science explanations from scientists. The host often gives a brief explanation about why something is happening in a video clip.

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  • [–] 4 points 1 month ago

    I don't know how much preteens will like them, but there are channels like MinuteEarth, MinutePhysics, MinuteFood, which I've occasionally enjoyed watching, and think I would have if they had existed when I was a preteen too.

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  • [–] 4 points 1 month ago

    I recommend Learning Curve. It's mostly about astronomy or the universe, but sometimes also about other things: https://www.youtube.com/@LearningCurveScience

    Their description:

    What is Learning Curve all about? The Universe is an amazing place, and the goal of this channel is to uncover some of its secrets. I have been a science teacher for over 20 years, and I'm constantly amazed by the world and the universe around me. Having an inquisitive mind has set me on a mission to explore as many of the fantastic things I find as possible, and explain them to you. So if you have an inquisitive mind too, then make sure to subscribe and check back to find out what I've learned each week. As I always say, curiousness makes us human.

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  • [–] 6 points 1 month ago
    [–] 2 points 1 month ago

    My 10 uear old likes to watch NileRed.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 month ago

    Some of my favs:

    History/Archeology
    Ancient Americas Archeology of native North & Central American peoples
    Modern History TV
    Townsends Exploring 18th century life

    Zoology/Animal-stuff
    Casual Geographic *
    Moth Light Media
    Lindsay Nikole *
    Ze Frank's True Facts This is the kid-friendly version of his channel

    Astronomy/Astrophysics
    Dr Becky
    PBS Space Time
    Both of these might be a bit above a pre-teen's understanding. I would have loved these as a kid, complexity be damned.

    General Science
    PBS Nova

    Earth Science
    PBS Terra

    Chemistry
    ACS Reactions

    Art & Literature
    Great Art Explained
    Great Books Explained

    *: language/subject matter/style might not be a good fit for younger children.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 month ago*

    Smarter Every Day

    Mark Rober

    Kurzgesagt

    Veritasium

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  • [–] 1 point 1 month ago

    Crash Course.

    Watch all the Crash Courses.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 month ago

    If you can somehow get it, any Bill Nye the Science Guy.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 month ago

    I always enjoy a 3blue1brown video, depending on their current intuition they probably be able to parse his explanations

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