SciShow is good people making science content aimed at a general audience.

In addition to the others mentioned.
Kyle Hill
Steve Mould
Physics Girl
The Action Lab
Anton Petrov
Scott Manley
Veritasium
Minute Earth
Minute Physics
VSauce
SciShow
Hank Green
Cleo Abram

Since I didn't see many creators who are women, here are a few recommendations:

The Space Gal (Emily Calandrelli)

Huge if True (Cleo Abram)

Up and Atom (Jade Tan-Holmes)

Emily the Engineer (content can be pretty rough - profanity and simulated danger)

Simone Giertz

Simone Giertz

https://m.youtube.com/c/simonegiertz

Bill Nye the Science Guy from the 90s.

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

Hank Green’s stuff?

Technology Connections
Periodic Videos
Computerphile
One Blue Three Brown
MinutePhysics

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.

you tube has pbs space time, nova, terra and the sci show along with others.

Vi Hart is great. She hasn't made videos in a long while but her old ones are still around.

Technically more of an engineering / maker channel, but Xyla Foxlin is great. She does occasionally swear, but a 12 year old has probably heard those words before. Yeetmas, where she launches a Christmas tree rocket, would be a good place to start. (Not a Christmas tree themed rocket, a decorated pine tree on top rocket motor as long as your arm.)

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.

Maybe NOVA?
pbs.org/nova
youtube/@novapbs

They cover a wide range of topics, show professionals at work & explaining their work (glimpsing a life/work of an actual scientists).

Also good for having a sense of the context the modern irl world exists in, not just the here & now of personal bubble experiences.

I would have loved this when I was 12, I get to enjoy it now though https://youtube.com/@zefrank

Crash Course is great. https://thecrashcourse.com/

I really like physicist Dr. Angela Collier. Not all of her videos are about science, but at least the plurality are. Her videos are generally pretty casual, and she doesn't really script.

I also really like Practical Engineering for civil engineering stuff.

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.

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.

Cleo.

She's not a scientist but a journalist, but a pretty good one, like, my top 1. She always covers science and engineering and always communicates extremely well.

https://youtube.com/@cleoabram

SciShow, PBS channels in general (although PBS Space Time might be too advanced for 12y old), anything with Hank Green

Edit: And of course Kurzgesagt

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

Myron Cook is the Bob Ross of Geology. His channel is a treasure:

https://www.youtube.com/@myroncook

if your 12yo is interested in space, physics, pbs space, is another one, but it might be hard to follow if your not versed in the field though.

Oh my God I love the fact that you are using Lemmy for this! :D

#lemmy4everything

Crash Course/Hank Green

The Royal Institution, especially the Christmas Lecture series. Even the ones going back 30 years are great.

Haven't seen Dr. Pamela Gay's name in this thread. So her.

watch mythbusters with her, maybe?

I have started becoming a supporter of my local PBS station so I've been watching a lot of pbs content on pbs.org

It seems they have quite a few options for young kids learning science

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.

Angela Collier

https://youtu.be/fLzEX1TPBFM

Tons of great recommendations here. I didn’t see it mentioned. For somebody into biology, especially apes, Gutsick Gibbon is superb. Erika is wonderful and crazy knowledgeable on the topic of hominins among other things.

I would Anton Petrov. Good 10 to 15 minute videos on science and astronomy and current events. https://m.youtube.com/@whatdamath

It’s not flashy but there’s plenty of great Richard Feynman lectures on yt. No one better at communicating science and math imo.

Fraser Cain, universe today.

Dr Iain Stewart has some good documentaries, Earth: The Biography and How The Earth Changed History