Rainy days (or hot weather) can turn even the best-planned classroom into hysteria. However, if you have the right YouTube channels ready to go, you can turn inclement weather into a win. Whether you’re filling time, rewarding good behaviour, or just trying to survive indoor lunch duty, this list of 100 YouTube channels are safe for the classroom and the students might actually learn something. Maybe?
Bookmark this post and thank me later.
🔬 SCIENCE + ENGINEERING
- Mark Rober - Wild builds and science experiments (my fave and #1 overall)
- Smarter Every Day - Slow-mo science and engineering
- Stuff Made Here - Cool inventions with a tech twist
- Veritasium - Physics and mind-blowing science
- Physics Girl - Curious science for curious minds
- Steve Spangler Science - Classic classroom science
- Science Max - Experiments, but HUGE
- The Spangler Effect - Short, simple experiments
- MinutePhysics - Fast, smart explainers
- AsapSCIENCE - Catchy, visual science vids
- TheDadLab - STEM for younger kids
- Mel Science - Real experiments, visually stunning
- The Action Lab - Curious physics questions answered
- CrashCourse Kids - Fun science and Earth topics
- Tom Scott - Nerdy explorations of weird tech
- Kurzgesagt - In a Nutshell - Beautiful animated explainers
- SciShow Kids - Perfect for primary science
- Learn Bright - Curriculum-style explainers
- Operation Ouch - Fun medical science
- National Geographic Kids - Nature, animals, exploration
🎨 ART + CREATIVITY
- Art for Kids Hub - Step-by-step drawing (I like to follow along on the whiteboard in front of the class) — Also, give the kids an art book. Tell them to start on page 1 and only use it for Art for Kids Hub. At the end of the year, they can review their work from their first attempt to their latest.
- Draw So Cute - Adorable cartoons
- DoodleDrawArt - Beginner drawing tutorials
- Art Land - Easy art for all ages
- Cartooning Club How to Draw - Pop culture drawings
- Easy Kids Drawings - Super simple stuff
- LetsDrawWithBee - Cute and fun characters
- Mr. New’s Art Class - Teacher-style instruction
- Mrs. Nguyen’s Art Room - Fun K–5 ideas
- Deep Space Sparkle - High-quality projects
🧠 BRAIN FOOD + FUN FACTS
- TED-Ed - Animated, smart, and snappy
- Kid Should See This - Quirky, educational picks
- Mystery Doug - Primary Q&A science format
- Peekaboo Kidz - General knowledge for little learners
- CrashCourse - High school and up
- Be Smart - Short science questions answered
- SciShow - Dig into every topic under the sun
- It’s Okay to Be Smart - PBS-style science
- What If - Speculative, high-interest science
- MinuteEarth - Earth science animations
🎮 CHALLENGES + TRICK SHOTS
- Dude Perfect - Trick shots and hilarious games
- How Ridiculous - Dropping stuff from towers
- MrBeast (Kid-Safe Vids) - High-energy stunts
- ZHC - Art challenges + giveaways
- Unspeakable - Minecraft + wild challenges
- PrestonPlayz - Kid-safe gaming + IRL vids
- Guava Juice - Wacky fun for younger kids
- Ben Azelart - Silly stunts, mostly clean
- Norris Nuts - Aussie family fun + challenges
- Team Edge - Older kid game show vibes
⚙️ BUILDS + ENGINEERING + SATISFYING
- Joseph’s Machines - Rube Goldberg chaos
- Hevesh5 (Domino Master) - Epic domino creations
- Marble League - The OG marble racing sport
- MetaBall Studios - Size matters
- Lego Masters Australia (Clips) - Impressive LEGO builds and battles
- Brick Science - STEM + LEGO
- LEGO Official - Shorts, builds, and mini stories
- Toys And Colors - Skits and pretend play
- Kids Invent Stuff - Real inventions from student ideas
- Woodworking for Mere Mortals (Clean Builds) - Practical maker projects
🎲 GAMES + LOGIC + MATH
- Numberphile - Addicting math stories
- Mathantics - Clear, visual math lessons
- Khan Academy - Short, well-structured lessons
- 3Blue1Brown - Beautiful, deep math (upper years)
- Mashup Math - Super engaging animations and math puzzles (Review)
- BrainCraft - Mind, psychology, and logic
- Numberock - Catchy math songs from place value to fractions
- Vsauce - Thought experiments + weird facts
- Domics - Animations with dry humour (pre-screen!)
- CrashMath - UK-style exam tricks, surprisingly watchable
🌍 HISTORY + GEOGRAPHY
- Geography Now - Every country, one episode at a time
- Simple History - Animated and engaging
- Crash Course World History - High school + teacher-led
- Little Historians - Bite-sized, animated history videos
- MrBettsClass - Funny musical history skits
- The History Channel - Kids Clips - Documentary-style
- National Geographic - High-quality world videos
- RealLifeLore - Fun “what if” geography questions
- History Bombs - Music + drama + history
- Crash Course Geography - Engaging and visual
🧘♀️ RELAXING + RAINY DAY VIBES
- Cosmic Kids Yoga - Movement meets mindfulness
- GoNoodle - Brain breaks + silly songs
- Super Simple Songs - Little ones will love it
- Calm Classroom - Breathing + focus
- Relaxing White Noise - Background calm
- Sand Tagious - Addictive sand ASMR
- Lofi Girl - Chill beats, great for drawing
- Sensory Stories - Designed for calm storytelling
- Peace Out - Cosmic Kids - Short mindfulness stories
- Ambient Worlds - Fantasy soundscapes for drawing or calm time
🐾 JUST FOR FUN (STILL SCHOOL SAFE!)
- Joe Jenkins - A piano-playing prankster
- Jelles - Fun marble runs
- I Did a Thing - Aussie inventor and comedian building bizarre contraptions
- Sesame Street - Classic and wholesome
- Zach King - The king of clever video illusions and digital magic tricks.
- PBS Kids - Clips from all their best shows
- Cool School - Animated fairytales & fun
- Ryan’s World - Younger students will love it
- The Axel Show - Adventure + learning
- Cocomelon - Toe-tapping ear worms
Hopefully I have given you enough to play in your classroom for those days when the kids need to stay in at break times. Or, those days when you just need to let the students switch off for a bit. As always, if you have a recommendation, use the comments section below.
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