Eleven Engaging YouTube Channels That Infuse Learning with Fun

YouTube gets a bad rap for being full of low-quality brain rot. Yes, that sort of content is definitely present and often shows up on the homepage of the website for new users, but that simply isn’t all of the platform. Despite an inordinate amount of mind-numbing content, YouTube can indeed be an incredible source of knowledge — you just need to know where to find it. If you’d like to improve your video algorithm and make your YouTube account a little more valuable for your brain, give these channels a try. Your mind will thank you!

Kurzgesagt — In a Nutshell — YouTube | General Science

No list of educational content on YouTube would be complete without mentioning Kurzgesagt. As one of the best educational channels on YouTube, Kurzgesagt creates incredible animated videos that are super in-depth and about incredibly fascinating scientific topics. As a team of science enthusiasts and animators, they aim to excite people about science, by telling stories using the incredible world of science. If you only choose to check out one channel from this list, let it be this one.

Recommended Video: Neutron Stars — The Most Extreme Things that are not Black Holes

Leena Norms — YouTube | Lifestyle and Sustainability

Leena is the perfect creator to watch if you’re in your 20s or 30s. Focusing on lifestyle advice, literature, and becoming more sustainable as you transition into true adulthood, the videos produced by Leena feel productive to watch, and often leave you with new perspectives to consider. As a creator on a journey to become more sustainable, she paints an excellent, beautifully messy image of striving to live a lifestyle of endless progress, without the obnoxious perfection filter that so many influencers in the space tend to hide behind.

Recommended Video: How to half-arse being vegan.

Future Proof — YouTube | Conscious Consumerism & Sustainability

I just recently discovered this channel and am absolutely in love with its message. Future Proof focuses on deep dives into product and company histories, focusing on how the brands we know and love successfully [or unsuccessfully] strive for ethical and sustainable practices. With an anti-consumerism lens, it’s a great resource to get de-influenced and to learn more about how to become a more earth-conscious, ethics-conscious, and thrifty consumer. The writers for the channel also do an excellent job of keeping what they report both fair and balanced.

Recommended Video: Why Clothing is WORSE Now | Old VS New

Casually Explained — YouTube | Random Fun Facts

Casually Explained is full of random silly topics with loads of fun facts and tons of information. But, as the name suggests, the creator keeps the content super silly and relaxed. If you’re hesitant about watching educational videos online, Casually Explained is a great place to start, as it balances humor and actual information well, without ever feeling like work.

Recommended Video: Dangerous Australian Wildlife Tier List

Bernadette Banner — YouTube | Fashion History & Edwardian/Victorian Culture

Bernadette Banner is one of my favorite YouTube creators ever, let alone my favorite educationally-minded video channel. With an incredible level of knowledge of fashion design at the turn of the 20th century, she focuses on educating her audience about historical garment design and the history of fashion. If you have any fascination with history or fashion or just adore watching people nerd out about their favorite niche topics, Bernadette is the perfect content creator to watch. If you’re interested in learning how to sew or create your own garments, you’ll also find a ton of inspiration throughout her channel.

Recommended Video: Ok but how did the Edwardians WASH these dresses?

SciShow — YouTube & CrashCourse — YouTube | Science News and STEM Study Material

Though these are technically two separate channels, I’m lumping them together as they were filmed in the same studio. Both of these educational companies focus on providing general information and lessons on delightful science topics. While both are entertaining, SciShow is a lighter watch, focusing more on pop science than fundamentals. CrashCourse, on the other hand, has videos that are great for supplementing any studying for college or high school (or younger, if your child is feeling rather ambitious). Seriously, when I was working on my undergrad in biology, I watched CrashCourse videos to study specific topics — they’re well made and helped solidify content I was being tested on in lower-division classes (they’re more fun than reading textbooks).

Recommended Videos: The Arctic Is Drowning in Plastic & Heredity: Crash Course Biology #9

Vsauce — YouTube | General Science

Vsauce is one the best channels for general intellectual musings and random information. As a super-bingeable series, these science-focused videos will leave you fascinated by our world and life. Though a good collection of this channel’s content may cause you to think yourself into an existential crisis, it will likely also make you laugh. The personalities who deliver the information are very lovable and make the information super easy to digest.

Recommended Video: The Future Of Reasoning

Michael Reeves — YouTube | Engineering, Tech, and Coding

If you love ridiculous tech gadgets and gaining insight into how robots and inventions are made, Michael Reeves is a super fun creator to watch. Perfect for those curious about engineering, coding, product development, and/or how things work, a good portion of his videos walk through the process of designing a project. Those projects in question, however, just happen to be very silly and entertaining. I recommend Michael Reeves if you’re interested in anything related to tech.

Recommended Video: I Built A Surgery Robot

LegalEagle — YouTube | Law and Justice

This channel is filled with law explanations that are both fun and educational. I’m particularly fond of the creator’s more political content, but Legal Eagle also does a ton of super engaging videos where he’ll break down how popular TV shows messed up court proceedings in their episodes! If you have an interest in understanding more about U.S. law, Legal Eagle, run by a practicing attorney, is an excellent place to check out.

Recommended Video: How Disney Will Control Mickey Forever

Defunctland — YouTube | Theme Park History and Entertainment Design

Defunctland focuses on in-depth theme park history and theme park design. Yes, the topic is super niche, but the channel manages to keep it hypnotically engaging and delightfully educational! Defunctland produces incredible video essays on the history of entertainment design, rides, and the world of theme parks — focusing on the failures and what it can teach us about entertainment design. If you ever dreamed of becoming an Imagineer, love theme parks, or love ridiculously niche long-form documentaries, this is the perfect channel to check out.

Recommended Video: Disney’s FastPass: A Complicated History

How To Cook That — YouTube | Baking Science and Chemistry

If you love watching baking recipes to relax, allow me to introduce you to Anne Reardon, a delightful baking scientist and dietician located in Australia who dedicates her channel to debunking fake baking videos online. As an expert in the world of baking and a scientifically-minded investigator, she provides an incredible amount of insight into how content on the internet can be misleading. If you want to improve your ability to tell when baking hacks are fake, Anne Reardon is an excellent creator to check out.

Recommended Video: Debunking Pine Needle Soda, a Medical SCAM & flat cookie hacks | How To Cook That Ann Reardon

BONUS: STRANGE ÆONS — YouTube | 2000’s-2020’s Internet Culture, Cultural Memetics

So this one isn’t technically an educational channel, but this creator has been posting a ton of videos recently that feel like an internet anthropology lecture with an emphasis on Tumblr culture. Though this channel doesn’t always offer an educational experience, some of her videos go in-depth with the way the internet works and often inspire some incredible new perspectives of seeing the internet as a culture in its own right. If topics like memetics, culture, and fandoms interest you, you definitely should give Strange Æons a watch.

Recommended Video: A Very Deep Dive Into Reality Shifting

–

The quest for knowledge is unending, and with YouTube’s vast resources at your disposal, the journey can be nearly infinite. With the right selection of channels, that endless journey of knowledge questing can be engaging — and fun, too!

Continue to delve, continue to learn, and continue to aspire towards enjoying your education.

–

Are there any I’ve missed? Do you have a suggestion that you wish was included above? Let me know in the comments! I’m always looking for new suggestions :)

--

Originally Posted on Medium. Follow My Main Account There for More!