Lots of great recommendations already, but I haven't seen mention of Nebula, and I was looking for something like it last year.

I'm not affiliated with Nebula, I'm just a fan.

I look for ways to support creators more while supporting Google less, and Nebula is my favorite for science video creators, at the moment.

Some of the creators recommended here also post to Nebula with ad-free versions of the same videos and with a little bit of extra content (think DVD bonus features) - slightly longer videos, sometimes extra or extended interviews with interesting people.

And pretty much any creator who is on Nebula will say so at some point in their YouTube videos.

Slop for my horses. Used AI to parse the comments and make a cohesive list with it's best shot at links

Then hand checked the links, fixed any broken ones I could find.

The classifications to the right are AI generated, feel free to comment and have me change things.

• 3Blue1Brown (Grant Sanderson) — math; advanced
• Alexis Dahl — science/history; kid‑friendly
• AlphaPhoenix — physics/engineering; advanced
• Amateur Chemistry — various chemistry, some dangerous
• Anton Petrov — astronomy/space; kid‑friendly but dense
• Atomic Frontier — physics/engineering; kid‑friendly
• Beakmans World — general science; kid‑friendly, high‑energy also Internet Archive
• Becky Smethurst (Dr Becky) — astrophysics; kid‑friendly
• Bill Nye — general science; kid‑friendly also archive
• Bob MacDonald (Quirks & Quarks) — general science; kid‑friendly
• BobbyBroccoli — science history/controversies; sometimes heavy topics
• Carl Sagan (Cosmos) — astronomy; kid‑friendly
• Chemical Force — chemistry; dangerous experiments
• Chubbyemu — medical case studies; sometimes intense
• Cleo Abram (Huge if True) — science/tech explainers; highly accessible
• Computerphile — computer science; kid‑friendly
• COSMOS (Neil deGrasse Tyson) — properly on Netflix, astronomy; kid‑friendly
• Crash Course — general education; kid‑friendly
• David Butler (HowFarAwayIsIt) — astronomy/cosmology; kid‑friendly
• Dr Angela Collier — physics; advanced
• Dr Iain Stewart — geology/earth science; kid‑friendly
• Dr Karl Kruszelnicki — general science; kid‑friendly
• Dr Pamela Gay astronomy; kid‑friendly
• Emily Calandrelli (The Space Gal) — space/engineering; kid‑friendly
• Emily the Engineer — engineering/maker; mild language possible
• Explosions and Fire — chemistry/physics; dangerous experiments
• ExTrAcTiOnS aNd IrE — chemistry; dangerous experiments
• Fascinating Horror — disasters; not science education; sometimes intense
• Fraser Cain — astronomy/space news; kid‑friendly
• Gutsick Gibbon (Erika) — biology/evolution; kid‑friendly
• Hannah Fry — math; kid‑friendly
• HowFarAwayIsIt (David Butler) — astronomy; kid‑friendly
• Hyperspace Pirate — chemistry; dangerous experiments
• Isaac Arthur (SFIA) — futurism/space; advanced
• James Burke (Connections) — history of science; kid‑friendly
• Jeremy Fielding — engineering/maker; kid‑friendly
• Jeri Ellsworth — electronics/engineering; advanced
• Journey to the Microcosmos — microbiology; kid‑friendly
• Kyle Hill — physics/pop‑science; sometimes dark topics
• Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell — general science; sometimes heavy existential topics
• Labcoatz — chemistry; dangerous experiments
• Laura Kampf — maker/engineering; kid‑friendly
• Mark Rober — engineering/science; kid‑friendly
• Medlife Crisis — medicine; adult themes possible
• MinuteEarth — earth science; kid‑friendly
• MinutePhysics — physics; kid‑friendly
• Monterey Bay Aquarium — marine biology; kid‑friendly
• Mr. Green Guy — chemistry; dangerous experiments
• Mr. Wizard (Don Herbert) — general science; kid‑friendly
• Myron Cook — geology; kid‑friendly
• MythBusters — engineering/physics; occasional mild violence HULU and MAX
• NileRed — chemistry; dangerous experiments
• NileBlue — chemistry; dangerous experiments
• NOVA (PBS) — general science; kid‑friendly
• Numberphile — math; kid‑friendly
• PBS Eons — paleontology/evolution; kid‑friendly
• PBS Space Time — physics/astronomy; advanced
• PBS Terra — climate science; sometimes heavy topics
• Periodic Videos — chemistry; dangerous experiments
• Physics for the Birds — physics; kid‑friendly
• Physics Girl (Dianna Cowern) — physics; kid‑friendly
• Practical Engineering — civil engineering; kid‑friendly
• Rational Animations — math/logic; kid‑friendly
• Richard Feynman (lectures) — physics; advanced
• SciShow — general science; kid‑friendly
• Science and Futurism with Isaac Arthur — futurism/space; advanced
• Science Max — general science; kid‑friendly
• Scott Manley — space/rocketry; kid‑friendly
• Sebastian Lague — computational physics; kid‑friendly
• Simone Giertz — engineering/maker; mild language
• Smarter Every Day (Destin Sandlin) — physics/engineering; kid‑friendly
• Stand‑up Maths (Matt Parker) — math; kid‑friendly
• Steve Mould — physics; kid‑friendly
• Stuff Made Here — engineering; kid‑friendly but complex
• Styropyro — lasers/physics; dangerous experiments
• Technology Connections — engineering/tech history; kid‑friendly
• The Action Lab — physics/chemistry demos; sometimes dangerous experiments
• The Crash Course — Large educational project, cross disciplinary; kid-friendly
• The Octopus Lady — marine biology; kid‑friendly
• The Royal Institution — general science; kid‑friendly
• The Thought Emporium — DIY science/biology; dangerous experiments
• This Week in Science — science news; kid‑friendly
• Up and Atom (Jade Tan‑Holmes) — math/physics; kid‑friendly
• Veritasium (Derek Muller) — physics/general science; kid‑friendly
• Vi Hart — original channel gone, linked to someone re-uploading, quality is marginal, math; kid‑friendly
• VSauce — general science/philosophy; sometimes heavy concepts
• Xyla Foxlin — engineering/maker; mild language
• Ze Frank — biology/nature; kid‑friendly but sometimes emotionally heavy

Added from posts: Fraser Cain, The Crash Course, Beakman's World, Cleo Abram

Added from my own list: nile blue, my green guy, hyperspace pirate, smarter every day, jeremy fielding, stuff made here, laura kamph, jerri ellsworth

i feel like Ze's humor is fairly adult

SciShow is good people making science content aimed at a general audience.

In addition to the others mentioned.
Kyle Hill
Steve Mould
Physics Girl
The Action Lab
Anton Petrov
Scott Manley
Veritasium
Minute Earth
Minute Physics
VSauce
SciShow
Hank Green
Cleo Abram

Cleo.

She's not a scientist but a journalist, but a pretty good one, like, my top 1. She always covers science and engineering and always communicates extremely well.

https://youtube.com/@cleoabram

if your 12yo is interested in space, physics, pbs space, is another one, but it might be hard to follow if your not versed in the field though.

I have started becoming a supporter of my local PBS station so I've been watching a lot of pbs content on pbs.org

It seems they have quite a few options for young kids learning science

Carl fucking Sagan.

Simone Giertz

https://m.youtube.com/c/simonegiertz

you tube has pbs space time, nova, terra and the sci show along with others.

watch mythbusters with her, maybe?

I dont really know whats age appropriate for a 12 year old but BobbyBroccoli has some good science controversy videos. He has a good series of videos on a physics scandal and a video on another physics scandal. He uses some cool visualizations and I like how he talks about the science and the people involved. Theres also cold fusion. One of the fusion videos has a title thats worrying but no one dies, its making a point.

Too dark at her age probably but maybe good as a teenager. I listen to Fascinating Horror who covers various disasters in 15 mins or less. I liked that the videos arent sensationalized. He always says the victims names and backgrounds, the circumstances leading up to it and the fallout. Like theres a video about a woman who was rushed the hospital and made the staff sick. Theres a lot of videos calling her the toxic lady. His video refers to her by name, mentions that moniker doesnt match how positive and loved she was, and her prior medical issues that likely caused her desperation.

Dr Karl is the GOAT

Crash Course is great. https://thecrashcourse.com/

Well I was closer to 6 and 7, but I grew up with Mr. Wizard. He was probably Bill Nye's inspiration. Unpatronizing, simple, and straightforward science for kids. Man was a national treasure.

Bill Nye the Science Guy from the 90s.

I was about 12 or 13 when my parents taped a series from TV called "Connections" featuring a historian called James Burke. I've probably watched it over 30 times since and have shared it with my daughter (then about 8, now 13). 

Anytime she's home sick from school, that's what she wants to watch with me now. Highly recommended.

Since I didn't see many creators who are women, here are a few recommendations:

The Space Gal (Emily Calandrelli)

Huge if True (Cleo Abram)

Up and Atom (Jade Tan-Holmes)

Emily the Engineer (content can be pretty rough - profanity and simulated danger)

Simone Giertz

Physics girl on YouTube, even though she hasn't made any content anymore for years due to long term Covid, she's still recovering, but her videos were always very inspiring, very happy and curiosity inducing

I would have loved this when I was 12, I get to enjoy it now though https://youtube.com/@zefrank

Oh my God I love the fact that you are using Lemmy for this! :D

#lemmy4everything

Crash Course/Hank Green

Hank Green’s stuff?

Lots of good channel suggestions.

But I would also nominate COSMOS.

Both the original hosted by Carl Sagan, and the new series with Neil deGrasse Tyson.

For me, they brought the epicness of reality, scientific history, and the vastness of the universe, into focus in a way nothing else did.

They made me feel a hopeful and powerful "humanity is fucking AWESOME, and can do INCREDIBLE things". It's not just informative. It lights a fire in you for the way humanity fights its way through the dark, using the scientific method as our guide.

Fraser Cain, universe today.

Myron Cook is the Bob Ross of Geology. His channel is a treasure:

https://www.youtube.com/@myroncook

Space and physics stuff: David Butler - https://howfarawayisit.com/

Tons of great recommendations here. I didn’t see it mentioned. For somebody into biology, especially apes, Gutsick Gibbon is superb. Erika is wonderful and crazy knowledgeable on the topic of hominins among other things.