THE LOADING ZONE... Library
Educational Apps, YouTube Channels & Websites > Here are our favourites!
About:
Great short videos on a range of topics using a scientific approach. Some cool ones are:
Mars Base, Quantum Computers, Change your life – One Step At a Time, Why You Are Lonely and How To Make Friends, and Ant Megacolony
Why we like it
Really engaging, topics that will grab curious young minds, short and scientific.
What to look out for
Better for teens, and there are some topics you may want to watch first or discuss with your teen.
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About:
Short videos on a variety of educational subjects such as history, biology, literature etc. Lots of different segments with animations and witty, entertaining presenters.
Why we like it
Engaging content that condenses a lot of information into short, digestible videos. Lots of humour as well
What to look out for
The hosts can speak quite fast, so it may take multiple watches to fully understand a video
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About:
Quick paced and entertaining videos on wars and conflicts throughout history.
Why we like it
We especially liked the videos on the French revolution.
What to look out for
Really engaging but can be a little crass at times, and they sometimes use toilet humour. We recommend viewing first to see if suitable for your young person.
About:
Educational channel with animated videos under 10 minutes long about a variety of topics, including the sciences, history, social studies, architecture and many more.
Why we like it
Short, simple, easy to digest videos with engaging animations. Superhero Science is fun and uses super heroes to explain physics.
What to look out for
Due to the video length, some of the approaches to certain topics are over-simplified.
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About:
Super short science experiment videos
Why we like it
You can easily do these at home and they are practical and fun.
What to look out for
The science behind them isn't always explained so this might need further research, which could be a good next step in the learning process.
About:
Educational channel that covers a variety of topics, mainly history and sciences. Presented in plain language that makes it easy to understand.
Why we like it
Short, easy-to-digest videos that provide a good summary of a variety of topics
What to look out for
Some of the historical videos cover some complex topics, so it may be a good idea to discuss those with your child or teen before watching
About:
Amazing amount of short educational engaging videos on science, tech, space animals, nature, food, diy, music, history, art, animation. New videos added each week.
Why we like it
So many videos that you are bound to find something engaging for your young person.
What to look out for
Not much, except they are YouTube videos so there may be an ad to start
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About:
Engaging videos on the sciences, averaging 15 mins. Sometimes creates longer series, such as an interesting series on climate change where the hosts of the show use science to live off-grid.
Why we like it
Explains complicated scientific topics in a funny and engaging way.
What to look out for
Some topics are better suited to older kids and some you may want to watch with your teen or cross off the list depending on your personal views and values. They also sometimes do sponsored videos where they’ll promote products like Google within the video.
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About:
Educational channel that creates short videos about specialised topics, hosted by an expert on that topic. The topics cover areas like science, technology, personal development and sociology.
Why we like it
Short, insightful and engaging videos by experts who present things in an accessible way.
What to look out for
Some of the topics are meant for adult audiences, such as the videos about sex.
About:
Educational channel created by a non-profit organisation that makes short videos as part of a ‘course.’ These courses cover a wide range of subjects that can supplement a school curriculum
Why we like it
Short, easy to understand videos that can help a child or teenager gain a better understanding of topics taught in class, or engage with topics not covered in classes that they may be interested in.
What to look out for
The videos do not feature any music, animations or complicated visuals, which might be hard to digest for some young people.
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About:
Educational channel aimed at younger viewers that creates short, instructional videos that teach kids various creative skills.
Why we like it
Very simple and easy to digest, great for younger kids.
What to look out for
The channel hasn’t uploaded a video in 2 years, which might make it somewhat redundant.
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About:
Educational channel focusing on the sciences that creates short, well-researched videos covering a variety of disciplines that are easy for younger people to understand.
Why we like it
Explanations are easy to understand. Covers topics that young people are interested in and science topics that aren’t always taught in classes e.g. How Smart Are Crows Actually and Is Spider Silk the Future of Material Engineering?
What to look out for
They sometimes do sponsored videos where they promote non-education-related products in their videos.
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About:
Youtube channel dedicated to exploring historical “what if?” scenarios (e.g. what if Germany won World War 2, what if the Roman Empire didn’t exist etc). Occasionally makes other videos on different topics related to history, geography and politics.
Why we like it
Unique concept that history fans will love. Simple but effective animations mixed with photos and other primary sources. Engaging narration in a ‘storyteller’ style.
What to look out for
Some of the videos touch on darker topics relating to history and current society (e.g. terrorism, genocide eugenics etc). We recommend discussing these issues with your child or teen either before or after watching the videos.
About:
Website full of simple geography quizzes (both physical and political) about topics like flags, capital cities, mountain ranges etc.
Why we like it
Simple, fun way to learn geography. Layout is simple and easy to navigate.
What to look out for
There are some graphical errors with text in the quizzes that can make the quiz options hard to read, but those are normally just for a couple of letters at a time.
About:
Educational website run by National Geographic that has articles and games for kids about all sorts of topics related to science, history and geography.
Why we like it
Kid-friendly interface that is easy to navigate. Content made specifically for kids. There is a section for parents with fun activities you can do with your family.
What to look out for
The history section doesn’t have many articles about societies or periods outside of Europe.
About:
Online streaming service dedicated to documentaries and other educational content.
Why we like it
Thousands of documentaries about all sorts of fascinating topics.
What to look out for
The website uses a paid subscription service, so there’s no free-to-access content, but we think well worth the money.
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About:
A music artist and educator, his channel holds a variety of musical raps and jingles about both obscure facts and everyday knowledge. Vastly science themed, his videos make good food for a brain break during a topic. The internet rap in particular was a good example to see how open and broadly he covers a subject, addressing positive and negative factors in a timely and engaging manner.
Why we like it
His music is almost annoyingly catchy, and lays all cards down on the table, especially when talking of topics like the internet. Bite-sized content portions that teach you what you want to know in a quick and efficient way.
What to look out for
His demeanor seems a bit forced at times, it’s good for people of any age but some parts feel like they’re aimed for younger people.
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About:
The Life Guide is a talk-though youtube channel that covers bases such as politics, mythology and war. Its a small channel with sparse uploads, but holds factual and informative content that spans from 5 minutes to 3 hours. These topics include greek myths, the moon landing, to WWII. The channel holds a feel of being targeted towards an older age group with a pre-existing interest in the topics discussed.
Why we like it
The Life Guide has numerous videos where they compress large amounts of information to 5-10 minutes for easy consumption. Though suffering some typo’s, the on-screen effects are timed well and help implement a good level of engagement.
What to look out for
A handful of their videos are monotonous.
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About:
Youtube channel focused on geography whose main series is dedicated profile videos about every country in alphabetical order. These videos include information about a country’s political and physical geography, demographics and alliances, with humorous skits woven in. In between these profile videos, the channel also releases smaller videos about other geography-related topics such as a country’s administrative divisions, flags, travel vlogs and discussions of current events.
Why we like it
Engaging, well-researched videos with graphics and animations woven in. In the country profile videos, guests from that country present the videos alongside the usual host, which provides extra cultural commentary. Fosters interest in geography and travel in a fun, easy-to-digest way.
What to look out for
There are occasionally inappropriate jokes or innuendos, but most of them aren’t very explicit. The earlier videos (particularly those for countries starting with A) aren’t as well-made or detailed as later videos.
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About:
Education-adjacent Youtube channel that makes 10-30 minute long videos about a variety of history, science and current affairs topics using simple animations.
Why we like it
Easy-to-follow animations and narration. Daily video uploads mean viewers will never run out of content to watch. The videos on space are particularly engaging, especially “Mysterious Objects in Space.”
What to look out for
Some of the video topics may be inappropriate for younger viewers.
About:
Great website explaining the history of the universe and how it all began. Short videos and detailed explanations. Quite technical and very science based. Even has quizzes to test knowledge gained or not.
Why we like it
Would be great to add into a homeschooling science curriculum.
What to look out for
Aimed at teenagers and high school age children. You will need to create an account to access some information but it is still free.
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About:
Youtube channel all about space and what is actually happening now in terms of space exploration. Weekly updates on current space programs around the world. Great images of actually space ship building sites. Lots of videos talking about SpaceX and their progress on going into space.
Why we like it
Practically shows what building a space program is all about and the errors and issues that occur.
What to look out for
As with all Youtube videos, there will always be comments, which your young person may read.