Learning Resources and Tools

5 YouTube Educational Channels for Learning Science

As the second-largest search engine on the Internet (after Google), YouTube offers a multitude of learning  resources. The video site contains numerous channels about science, which are both entertaining and informative. If you’re a parent who is struggling to find fun, creative, and exciting ways to teach science to your kids, read on to discover five of the best YouTube science channels that can help.

1. Sick Science!

Steve Spangler is a former science teacher who makes excellent, kid-friendly science videos. His best is one in which he turns soda bottles into exploding geysers to show the actions of a vortex in a tornado in a way that kids can easily see and understand. The great thing about Steve’s YouTube channel, Sick Science!, is that his video experiments are easy to follow and replicate using items you can find around the house.

2. Veritasium 

Veritasium is a YouTube science channel that covers just about every question you could ask, from “How were the pyramids built?” to “Is there a speed limit to the universe?” There are also plenty of experiments to try at home. Veritasium’s videos are so well-regarded, they have appeared on CBS and BBC, and the channel has even been featured in the Scientific American Journal. Its “Slinky Physics” video is the most popular video on the channel, and features a demonstration of tension in physics by dropping a slinky. Fascinating stuff.

3. NASA

NASA is the YouTube science channel to go to for videos related to space and space travel. NASA’s videos are mostly in documentary format, focusing on information about space travel rather than on experiments, and are more suitable for teenagers. There are also longer videos more suited to research projects. The Orion videos are excellent for keeping students up-to-date on the latest in space travel. Check out “Inside the International Space Station” for a virtual tour of a space station.

4. Periodic Videos

Periodic Videos is the go-to channel for budding chemistry buffs. The presenter is Professor Martyn Poliakoff of the University of Nottingham, whose passion for chemistry is clear in all of the minute-long videos he makes. Each video features one of the 118 elements of the earth. His videos feature experiments that fall into the “don’t try this at home” category, and the channel’s fan base includes a Nobel laureate for Chemistry. Some of his best are his “numberphile” videos, which present practical applications of mathematics that anyone can appreciate.

5. MinutePhysics

The purpose of MinutePhysics videos is to present complicated physics concepts in simple videos that take no longer than one minute to explain, and to get kids excited about learning physics. A particular favorite is  “Why the solar system can exist,” which is probably the most comprehensive explanation of our solar system you’ll find anywhere.

Looking for ways to enhance your child’s knowledge of science? K12 has excellent K–8 online science courses that are great for supplementing your child’s school curriculum. Visit K12 today to learn more.

 

Image via Flickr by clasesdeperiodismo

 

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