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Guilt-Free Screen Time with Fun Kids’ STEM Videos!

  • Writer: Amy Wung Tsao
    Amy Wung Tsao
  • May 7
  • 6 min read

It’s been a hot summer day, and your kid has just come home after playing outside a good chunk of the day. They’re hot and tired and don’t know what to do. You’re also hot and tired, and you still have to get dinner on the table. What do you do? Reach for this list of guilt-free screen time options to throw on the TV while you make dinner. Problem solved! 



I’m a firm believer that some kinds of screen time are better than others. But YouTube or Netflix’s recommendations aren’t necessarily bubbling up the most healthy videos for your kids. Instead of letting the algorithm take the wheel, you can be proactive and share these fun videos that get kids inspired, curious, and laughing!


I’ve recommended a lot of science and math videos on this blog before, but I thought it would be helpful to compile all the best series into one post for easy reference. Keep reading for the mom-approved, family favorite educational series that my own kids freely choose to rewatch over and over again in my house! 


Kids' Science Shows that go BIG!


Move over Bill Nye the Science Guy! Emily’s Wonder Lab takes the Kids' science show and adds so much color, high energy, messy fun, and comedic asides from its diverse cast of kids. Check out the trailer above, and you’ll see what I mean.  I am still devastated that this show was cancelled after just one season! 


The creator and host Emily Calandrelli is still getting kids to “Stay Curious and Keep Exploring” through her books and YouTube channel. But this show will always be one of my favorites!


Science Max on YouTube


This is a family favorite that all three of my kids watched and re-watched again and again! The name Science Max comes from the premise that each episode takes a simple science experiment, and “maxes” it out. 


So in their pilot episode above, they’ll start a show with a little balloon powered car that kids can make at home, but end the show trying to make a balloon powered car big enough for a grown-up to sit on! Then they freeze giant pumpkins with liquid nitrogen, throw a giant cardboard airplane off the roof, and build a bridge out of spaghetti strong enough to walk on.  


There are 26 episodes total between Season 1 and Season 2. And if that’s not enough, their website has instructions for a lot of the at-home experiments, and little games and simulators where kids can experiment with physics on the computer! My 7 year old still loves the play the pasta bridge simulator game all the time. 


Mark Rober on YouTube


For a long time, I just knew Mark Rober as that guy who built the squirrel obstacle course in his backyard during Covid. But then my kids turned me onto his channel and I realized he’s so much more than the squirrel obstacle course guy!


Yes, his videos can be a little click baity sometimes, but they can also be just super creative ways to approach science and engineering. The video above is my middle Kids' favorite one, where Mark explains the physics (and tricks) behind why carnival games are so hard to win. 


What kind of machines you ask? Chain-reaction machines (also known as Rube Goldberg machines) so whimsical that seem like they’re straight out of a cartoon. Joseph has built chain reaction machines to make a sandwich and then feed it to him, or to turn the page on his newspaper every time he drinks from his coffee mug. This unassuming little channel is equal parts inspiring, beautiful, and laugh-out-loud silly. Your kids will watch them all in a row, and then be so sad they’ve run out!


This is not the kind of show that’s going to explain to kids about the laws of gravity, but it will make them ask “Whoa how did he do that?”, and just maybe inspire them to start making chain reaction machines of their own! Here’s a short playlist of tutorial videos to help your little builders get started. 


Kids' Nature Shows that INSPIRE!


Any Nature Documentary You Like on YouTube, or lots of other streaming platforms too

This. This is my go to when I am overstimulated and overwhelmed and just need the house to be quiet for awhile so I can make dinner. I put these on for myself, and then my kids stop whining that they’re bored and watch with me. Is it the narrator’s soothing voice? Is it the unbelievably up-close footage? Is it the wondrous awe that we busy little humans share a planet with so much breathtaking beauty? Yes. Yes! All of it, yes!


Wild Kratts on PBS Kids

This is one of those PBS Kids shows that just has had a lot of staying power. I know middle schoolers with fond memories of watching this, and younger ones just discovering it and loving it now!


Plus full episodes are available, ad-free on the PBS website. They only have about a dozen full episodes available at any given time, but they rotate the episodes on a weekly basis. 


Kids' Math Shows that bring the FUN!


Numberblocks on YouTube


I swear, when I was homeschooling a preschooler and a 1st grader, they both learned more math from Numberblocks than they ever could from me. The characters, the music, the short funny little stories, they just make math so so delightful! But they also make numbers so visual and easy to grasp. Plus the episodes are all bite-sized, so it’s great for younger kids with shorter attention spans. This BBC Kids' show is such a gift!


The only hard part is, the episodes are really meant to be watched in order, so the math concepts can build on each other. But it’s hard to watch them in order, unless you live in the UK. So to save you a little bit of searching around, here are YouTube links to playlists for each season: 

Season 1 (Count, add, and subtract numbers 1-5)

Season 2 (Count, add, and subtract numbers up to 10, plus odds/evens and more)

Season 3 (Count, add, and subtract numbers up to 20, plus number comparisons, patterns, numbers that add to 10, and more)

Season 4 (Count to 100, place value, early multiplication and division concepts, and more)

Season 5 (Multiplication and more)

Season 6 (Probability, money, measurement, and more)

Season 7 (More multiplication and more)

Season 8 (Area and perimeter, fractions, prime numbers, and more)



Odd Squad by PBS Kids

This is just the most delightful mash up of kids, math, and Men in Black style antics.You know a PBS Kids show is popular when they have 5 seasons and even 2 stand-alone movies! 


Somehow PBS got really great kid actors who really ham it up playing secret agents in suits. Whenever something odd is happening, Odd Squad is here to save the day, usually with a little bit of math and a lot of silliness.


Like Wild Kratts, full episodes of Odd Squad are available, ad-free on the PBS website. They have a bout six full episodes available at any given time, but they rotate the episodes on a weekly basis. 



Kids’ Science Shows to Play Along at Home


Brainchild on Netflix

A kid’s science show produced by Pharrell Williams? Of course it’s going to be entertaining! But it also answers some really fun science questions for kids like “Is the 5 second rule real?” Plus it’s also got some fun interactive segments that let you play along at home. Each 20-ish minute episode covers a different topic like why social media is addictive, or what dreams mean. It’s targeted to older elementary kids, although truthfully my middle kid was watching this in kindergarten and loving it too!


Brain Games from National Geographic on Disney+

We’ve only just started watching this in my house, but so far it’s a hit with all my kids! Full of optical illusions, this show gets you questioning your own perception and learning brain science all at the same time! 




From the bottom of my heart, I hope this list helps you fill your long summer days with more joy and less guilt! Now don’t mind me, I’m going to go snuggle with my kid to watch another episode of Brain Games. 


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