Crash Course

Crash Course Kids

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Recommended Ages

3rd–5th grades (ages 8–11)

Crash Course Kids is a YouTube channel that introduces elementary learners to science, engineering, and environmental concepts through short, energetic videos. Hosts use demonstrations, animation, and clear explanations to explore topics like weather, ecosystems, force and motion, and space. Parents and teachers like that episodes are organized into playlists and align well with many science standards, making them easy to plug into lessons. As a free resource, Crash Course Kids is a go-to for adding high-quality visuals and explanations to K–5 STEM learning.

Great for curious elementary learners who enjoy YouTube-style content, visual explanations, and short video segments; especially helpful for secular homeschool families wanting to spark interest in science or introduce topics before deeper reading or hands-on work.

Pros

Free, high-energy science videos designed for roughly grades 3–5 that break big STEM ideas into short, kid-friendly episodes; align with many school standards and are widely recommended as a secular supplemental resource by homeschool bloggers and YouTube/Reddit communities. 

Cons

Not a full science curriculum—there are no built-in labs, tests, or detailed lesson plans; the fast pace, quick cuts, and background humor can be overstimulating for some kids; mostly focused on science, with relatively little humanities content compared to the main Crash Course channel. 

Because Crash Course Kids is completely free and ad-supported on YouTube, families don’t need ESA or charter-approval to access it; some charter programs may still list it as a recommended supplemental resource within their own science plans.

Free

Crash Course Kids
$0.00 USD

Skills

What kids will learn

Crash Course Kids Mission

The mission of Crash Course Kids is to make upper‑elementary science feel exciting, understandable, and genuinely cool by turning key 5th‑grade topics into fast‑paced, story‑driven video lessons. The series combines friendly on‑camera hosts, clear explanations, and playful animation to help kids build real conceptual understanding of earth science, physical science, engineering, and space—without dumbing anything down. Because every episode lives for free on YouTube, teachers and families anywhere can plug high‑quality, standards‑aligned science into their day with zero prep.

Crash Course Kids Story

Crash Course Kids grew out of the wildly popular Crash Course YouTube channel created by brothers John and Hank Green, as teachers and families started asking for age‑appropriate science content for younger learners. The team partnered with PBS Digital Studios and launched Crash Course Kids in 2015 with host Sabrina Cruz, building episodes around a typical 5th‑grade science curriculum and weaving in humor, classroom‑ready graphics, and recurring storylines kids could follow. Over time, the show has become a go‑to resource for homeschoolers and schools who want short, engaging videos that match what kids are learning in class.

About Modular Learning

FAQ: Additional Details about Crash Course Kids

A day with Crash Course Kids might look like curling up on the couch or around a laptop to watch a five-minute episode, hearing upbeat music and quick, funny explanations of big science ideas with colorful animations and sound effects. After the video, kids might sketch what they learned, run a simple kitchen-table experiment, or excitedly replay a favorite moment while explaining it in their own words over lunch.

Crash Course Kids is a free YouTube-based science series aimed primarily at upper-elementary learners. Families integrate it by choosing topic-specific playlists (like space, ecosystems, or engineering), watching short episodes, and pairing them with notebooking, experiments, or discussion; it can serve as a fun spine or supplement for a broader science program.

Younger children generally benefit from a caregiver watching alongside them, pausing to answer questions, define vocabulary, and connect ideas to the child’s interests. Older or more independent learners can watch on their own and then check in with a parent to summarize the episode or plan a related project.

No formal academic prerequisites are required beyond the ability to follow spoken English; reading skills are helpful but not essential if a caregiver is available to pause and explain. The series is best suited to roughly 3rd–5th graders, though younger and older siblings often enjoy watching together.

Crash Course Kids offers shorter, more elementary‑friendly science videos with clear visuals, making them accessible for dyslexic, autistic, and ADHD children. The playful format works well as a hook or review; families can extend learning with hands‑on experiments for sensory seekers or simplified narration for kids with language delays.

Similar appeal for 2e elementary learners—short, funny videos that connect concepts. Great as a hook or review, but most 2e kids will still need hands‑on work or discussion afterward to really master ideas.

There is no purchase required and therefore no refund policy; families can freely start, stop, rewatch, or abandon episodes and playlists at any time without financial commitment.

Less ideal for families who are strictly screen-free, for kids who struggle to follow rapid speech and visual changes, or for parents looking for a complete, pre-planned science curriculum with labs and assessments.

For full science curricula, families often pair Crash Course Kids with programs like Mystery Science or Generation Genius; for additional free video resources, SciShow Kids and National Geographic Kids are frequently recommended companions. 

Crash Course Kids is a completed series, so the core set of episodes is stable, but families can mix in new related Crash Course content as the main Crash Course channel continues to expand topics and series. Many teachers and homeschoolers have also created unofficial guides, playlists, and activity suggestions that keep the material feeling fresh.

Pre-watch an episode, jot two or three questions, then have your child draw or narrate what they learned in a “science notebook” right after watching so the video becomes a launchpad for conversation, not just passive screen time.

Contact form

Meet John and Hank

Brothers John and Hank Green are the co‑founders of the Crash Course channels, including Crash Course Kids. John is a bestselling novelist and long‑time online educator; Hank is an entrepreneur and science communicator with a background in environmental studies and web video. Together they launched Crash Course in 2012 as part of their broader educational Vlogbrothers project, aiming to make high‑quality humanities and science learning freely available online. Their mix of humor, rigorous research, and respect for young learners has helped turn Crash Course into one of the most widely used video resources in classrooms around the world.