STEM at home
Solve It! For Kids
by Jennifer Swanson, Jed Doherty & Jeff Gonyea
Ages: 6+ years
Solve It! for Kids takes listeners inside the actual work of scientists, engineers, and experts — not textbook versions of their jobs, but the real, messy, creative problem-solving they do every day. Hosts Jennifer Swanson and Jeff Gonyea get the scoop directly from the experts, then invite kids to take on a challenge of their own. Every episode ends with a hands-on problem to tackle — which means the learning doesn't stop when the episode does.
Why we like it: It models real scientific thinking — not just facts, but process. Your child doesn't just hear how scientists work. They try it.
Wow in The World
by Tinkercast
Ages: 5-12 years
Wow in the World follows hosts Mindy Thomas and Guy Raz as they dive into the latest science and technology discoveries — and somehow make the whole thing feel like an adventure you're tagging along on. The episodes are funny, fast-moving, and genuinely surprising, even for the grown-up in the car.
Why we like it: It sparks the kind of dinnertime conversation that starts with "did you know..." and somehow goes for an hour.
Sci Show Kids
Ages: 6-8 years
SciShow Kids follows host Jessi, her robot rat Squeaks, and their friends at the Fort as they tackle the kinds of questions kids actually ask — and adults often can't answer on the spot. Why do we hiccup? How do volcanoes work? What's inside a black hole? Every episode is short, lively, and genuinely satisfying.
Why we like it: It meets kids at their actual curiosity, not a curriculum's version of it.
It's Not Magic It's Science
by Jay Flores
Ages: 5+ years
Your kid has seen a magic trick and lost their mind over it. Jay Flores figured out how to bottle that exact feeling — and turn it into a science lesson.
It's Not Magic, It's Science is a video series built around a simple but brilliant idea: use the wonder of magic to open the door to real scientific thinking. Every experiment follows three steps — Experiment, Explanation, Exploration — so kids don't just see something cool happen. They understand why, then go further.
Why we like it: The structure teaches kids to ask the next question — which is the whole point of science.
Oyla Jr Magazine
Ages: 8-11 years
OYLA Junior covers nature, space, inventions, logic puzzles, and basic physics — all in a colorful, visual-first format with hands-on activities designed to meet kids where they are. It's not a watered-down version of anything. It's its own thing, with the same curiosity-first DNA.
Like its older sibling, it's ad-free and delivered monthly in print. Screen-free by design, which is a quiet but meaningful feature.
Why we like it: It takes younger kids seriously. The format is accessible; the content never dumbs down.
Oyla Magazine
Ages: 12+ years
The name means "think!" — and that's exactly what this magazine asks of its readers. OYLA is a monthly print science magazine that doesn't talk down to kids. Each issue covers everything from the laws of physics to the mysteries of the cosmos, written at a level that actually challenges a curious 12-year-old — and keeps parents reading over their shoulder. It's the kind of thing you leave on the coffee table and find your kid has already picked up on their own.
Why we like it: Print still matters. Something about holding a science magazine makes a child feel like a real reader — and this one earns that.
Make: Magazine
Ages: 10+ years
If your child has ever taken something apart just to see how it works, this one's for them.
Make: magazine is a quarterly publication built for kids and adults who would rather build something than watch someone else do it. Electronics, robotics, 3D printing, woodworking, digital fabrication — each issue is packed with projects, tutorials, and stories that treat making things as its own kind of intelligence.
Why we like it: It validates a whole type of learner who doesn't always feel seen in a traditional classroom.
Hidden Figures
by 20th Century Fox
Ages: 8+ years
Hidden Figures tells the true story of Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson — three Black women whose mathematical brilliance helped launch John Glenn into orbit and quietly changed the course of the Space Race. It's a story about what happens when talent refuses to be ignored.
Why we like it: It puts faces on STEM history that kids rarely see — and opens up real conversation about who gets credit and why.
Dream Big: Engineering Our World
by MacGillivray Freeman Films
Ages: 7+ years
Dream Big is an IMAX documentary that takes the question "how did they build that?" and turns it into something genuinely cinematic — from the Great Wall of China to underwater robots to cities designed to sustain themselves. Narrated by Jeff Bridges, it's the kind of film that makes your child look at the built world differently on the drive home.
Why we like it: Engineering becomes wonder. That shift — from "that's impressive" to "I want to understand how" — is exactly what we're after.
The Magic School Bus
Ages: 4-8 years
Ms. Frizzle and her impossibly game class have been taking field trips inside the human body, through the solar system, and to the ocean floor since 1994 — and the science still holds up. The Magic School Bus makes complex concepts feel like pure adventure, which is exactly how it should feel at this age.
Why we like it: It's a classic for a reason. The curiosity it sparks is the real curriculum.