10 Top STEM Video Resources

Videos are an amazing tool for STEM education. Kids can learn from a biomedical engineer designing a drug-delivery method, tour a candy manufacturing facility using autonomous robots, or explore how astronauts live aboard the International Space Station. In my after school engineering program, I use videos as a “hook” for introducing a STEM challenge. For example, when completing a catapult challenge, I played a video on the science behind the famous Pumpkin’ Chunkin’ challenge. Or when introducing the Space Lander Challenge, I showed a video of NASA’s dramatic landing of the Mars Curiosity rover. When paired with an activity, a video can really bring STEM learning to life.

Below are our top 10 awesome STEM video resources for your kids, classroom, or STEM program. Most include videos with short duration of 1 – 3 minutes to fit easily into a classroom lesson.

1. Curiosity Machine – From biomimicry to civil engineering, kids are introduced to a STEM challenge with a short inspirational video that connects to real-world science and engineering.
2. Exploratorium Science In the City – Urban environments are full of mysterious natural and human-made phenomena. Why are there so many one-footed pigeons? Where does the sewage go? The Exploratorium is “taking it outside” to explore these and other questions in engineering, ecology, optics, waves, geology, architecture, weather, and more.
3. Engineer Your Life – From video game design to saving lives, this is a great series of videos detailing why a group of women became engineers.
4. PBS Design Squad – Exciting examples of engineering in the real-world plus videos of kids completing various engineering projects from a cardboard playhouse to a massaging shoe.
5. PBS Video Game Challenge – Behind the scenes of making video games.
6. Careers in Engineering – A 12 minute documentary on careers in engineering from a diverse group of role models.

    

7. NASA ScienceCasts – ScienceCasts are short videos about fun, interesting, and unusual science topics encountered by NASA’s Science Missions.

    

8. SciShow Kids – Exciting short videos on science topics and current events from why do we burp to what are stars.

    

9. Smarter Every Day – Exciting videos exploring a wide range of STEM topics such as a tour of the ISS or explaining a jellyfish sting.

    

10. Minute Physics – Short and captivating videos explaining a range of physics topics including how bikes work to the color of the sky.

     

I hope these videos increase your student’s love of STEM!

-Natasha