37 Popular YouTube Channels to Overcome Boredom and Engage Students
By TWA Staff
Updated on Feb 20, 2025
YouTube has become a valuable tool for educators wanting to supplement learning with videos. Quality content simplifies complex topics, introduces ideas, and makes learning interactive.
This article showcases 37 of the best educational YouTube channels for students, whether starting their learning journey or working on advanced-level classes.
The Best Educational YouTube Channels for Younger Kids
Younger students benefit from educational videos that present foundational concepts through engaging visuals and simple explanations. These YouTube channels for kids cover literacy, math, science, problem-solving, and emotional regulation.
1. PBS Kids
Featuring popular educational shows like Wild Kratts and Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, PBS Kids teaches social skills, early literacy, and problem-solving. Colorful animations and relatable characters capture children’s attention and foster a love for learning.
2. SciShow Kids
SciShow Kids introduces science concepts in an exciting format for young viewers. Colorful visuals and hands-on experiments help children develop a love of science. A
The videos explore space, weather, gardening, and simple physics. Many episodes cover topics related to the Next Generation Science Standards for grades one through three.
3. Netflix Jr.
Netflix Jr. hosts a collection of short clips and sing-alongs from well-loved preschool series, including Puffin Rock, Wonderoos, and Storybots.
The videos are organized by series and topic. Teachers can access themed playlists, such as Bedtime Stories, DIY Projects and Crafts, and Halloween.
4. Sesame Street
The Sesame Street YouTube channel offers access to full-length episodes, sing-alongs, and themed compilations. Videos reinforce academics and social-emotional development.
Research shows that watching Sesame Street is linked to positive outcomes in cognitive development, learning about the world, and social reasoning.
5. Khan Academy Kids
Khan Academy Kids uses engaging animations and characters to teach math, reading, and social-emotional skills. On KhanAcademy.org, teachers can expand on the videos with related activities, and those with subscriptions can access advanced tools and resources.
6. Art for Kids Hub
Art for Kids Hub offers step-by-step tutorials that guide viewers through projects like drawing, painting, and origami. This guided approach combines structure with creativity to help children develop confidence. Users can browse collections featuring holidays, popular characters, animals, and more.
7. National Geographic Kids
Nat Geo Kids introduces a variety of topics, such as simple history, animal facts, environmental science, and world geography. Its real-world cinematography makes learning feel like an adventure!
8. Jack Hartmann Kids Music Channel
Jack Hartmann introduces foundational concepts like counting, phonics, and sight words with music. He encourages children to sing and actively participate, helping them absorb foundational skills through movement and repetition.
9. Crash Course Kids
Crash Course Kids’ short animations introduce science topics like habitats, space, and engineering. Most videos are five minutes or less and focus on foundational knowledge about each topic.
10. Cosmic Kids Yoga
Cosmic Kids Yoga blends movement, mindfulness, and storytelling. Videos take viewers on an interactive adventure or feature popular characters. The instructor guides children as they learn skills to help regulate emotions and incorporate more movement into their day.
11. The Kiboomers
The Kiboomers use music and early learning to teach language, numbers, and seasonal themes. Catchy songs and colorful visuals capture students’ attention and reinforce foundational concepts.
12. Peekaboo Kidz
Peekaboo Kidz features the Dr. Binocs series, which covers topics such as climate change, space, and Newton’s Law. Short, engaging videos use simple language and animation to explain complex concepts.
13. Lingokids
Lingokids targets children aged two to eight and introduces language and literacy skills with vibrantly animated videos. The Lingokids app offers over 1,600 interactive games, books, and activities.
The Best Educational YouTube Channels for Middle School Students
Middle schoolers transition to more abstract thinking and benefit from content challenging their growing curiosity. These channels explore more complex topics in a way students can understand.
14. Khan Academy
Khan Academy offers comprehensive videos covering math, science, world history, and economics. Lessons break complex ideas into an understandable and relatable format for students.
Most videos are under five minutes. They are also labeled by grade and standard, making the content easy to locate.
15. TED-Ed
TED-Ed uses storytelling and rich animations to explore history, science, philosophy, literature, and more. The same organization that publishes TED Talks produces TED-Ed videos.
Supplemental materials are available at ed.ted.com, making it easy to create a complete lesson. In addition to YouTube videos, a podcast, TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing, is also available.
16. PBS
The PBS channel features short clips, episodes, and documentaries. Its focus is on real-world storytelling, and the videos include archival footage, expert interviews, and news clips from primary sources.
17. SciShow
SciShow explores unusual science topics, sparking curiosity with videos like "Bananas Are Not What You Think" and "5 Unexplainable Mysteries Explained By Science."
18. Kurzgesagt
Known for sleek animations and in-depth research, Kurzgesagt tackles topics like artificial intelligence, black holes, and nuclear war. Visuals illustrate concepts to help students understand abstract ideas.
19. National Geographic
National Geographic combines expert knowledge and cinematography to teach via short clips or full-length episodes. Videos help students develop a more comprehensive view of topics.
20. Mental Floss
Mental Floss offers quirky educational content on history, science, pop culture, and more. The videos move quickly and pack in facts with a lighthearted tone.
21. Numberphile
Numberphile explores math concepts like geometric patterns, prime numbers, and infinity. Videos include real-world examples to simplify abstract ideas and highlight the importance of math.
22. Smithsonian Channel
The Smithsonian Channel combines vivid cinematography with expert storytelling. Kids enjoy short documentaries about historical events, natural wonders, and animals. Many history videos include archival footage.
23. Be Smart
Be Smart explores topics like history, science, and philosophy. High-quality videos combine narration, animation, and real-life video footage to teach advanced topics in an understandable way.
24. OverSimplified
With humor and animation, OverSimplified turns history into interesting, easy-to-follow stories. The videos feature straightforward dialogue and simple animations that cover major historical events.
25. The Action Lab
Action Lab showcases hands-on science experiments that explore physics, chemistry, and engineering principles. Experiments are often unorthodox, like letting a Venus flytrap digest the host’s finger! The content is educational and entertaining!
The Best Educational YouTube Channels for Advanced Students
These channels offer deeper insight into complex subjects for advanced learners like high school students. The content challenges and engages students who are ready to move beyond the basics.
26. Smarter Every Day
Smarter Every Day blends slow-motion footage with hands-on experiments to explore the mechanics of familiar activities.
The channel features a science and social studies series with topics like the Great Barrier Reef, farming, and the US Coast Guard.
27. CGP Grey
CGP Grey simplifies political and historical topics through a minimalist animation style. Topics include why some animals can’t be domesticated and how daylight savings time works.
28. NASA
The NASA YouTube channel provides the latest information on space exploration. Full-length documentaries explore major NASA events, and viewers can watch live footage of the International Space Station.
29. Big Think
Big Think features leading experts such as scientists and historians to explore major scientific topics and core personal skills.
30. Crash Course
The fast-paced, highly structured videos from Crash Course provide topic overviews relating to history, psychology, economics, literature, and more. Fast narration and on-screen visuals reinforce key information.
31. AsapSCIENCE
AsapSCIENCE explores everyday science topics using hand-drawn illustrations, real-life video footage, and research-based explanations. Many videos are under 10 minutes and easily integrated into lessons.
32. Veritasium
Tackling math, science (including organic chemistry), and other interesting topics, Veritasium explores complex questions through real-world experiments, expert interviews, and research-based explanations.
33. Minute Physics
MinutePhysics uses minimalist animations to distill advanced physics concepts into clear and precise explanations. Most videos are under five minutes, making them ideal for quickly reviewing complex topics.
34. VSauce
Vsauce covers science and philosophy beyond conventional knowledge, encouraging a broader view of the world. Videos include research and musings to answer questions like Is it okay to touch Mars? and Is anything real?
35. Epic History
Epic History reconstructs historical events, examining the decision-making and geopolitical factors that influence each event to help students understand how major events are related.
36. The Royal Institution
The Royal Institution showcases short clips and full-length talks from leading scientists and writers to cover complex topics and the latest scientific research news.
37. History Matters
History Matters provides an overview of significant historical events with a range of topics for students studying for A levels, GCSEs, and WP World/Euro History.
Wrap Up!
The right tools and content are key to keeping students engaged. These YouTube channels offer a blend of education and entertainment to help spark curiosity and reinforce key concepts.