Good, short, mellow "how stuff is made" videos for 4-year old?

July 25, 2019 8:13 AM

Looking for suggestions for videos showing how things are made, but I'm picky.

I often watch one or two short videos with my 4-year old as part of our going to bed ritual. Right now we mostly watch nature-related stuff (favorites are PBS's Deep Look and BBC Earth to give you an idea of the flavor of what I'm looking for). I also show him a couple of old Sesame Street "how stuff is made" videos that I remember from my childhood like this one about crayons, and this one about milk. I like these because they are around 4-5 minutes, effectively show how a thing is made, are relatively sedate, and don't have a lot of obnoxious narration. Unfortunately they're pretty grainy.

I tried finding some other videos, but the YouTube algorithm suggests mostly garbage, and just searching for "factory how it's made" or similar shows me stuff that is also not great (too long, too adult oriented, too loud, fast-paced, aggressive tone, generally obnoxious, etc.). Basically, I hate YouTube, but want some YouTube recommendations. Recommendations for particular videos or channels would be appreciated! I'm generally looking for "how stuff is made" but anything vaguely educational and good for a 4-year old shortly before bedtime would also be helpful. Thanks!

posted by skewed to Media & Arts (13 answers total)

Can we assume that the show "How It's Made" does not suit your needs? You hadn't mentioned it by name, but that would be my first step if I were you. (I've watched hours and hours of it, and I feel like it would work for you, but I'm not sure if it falls in your not great category.)
posted by fiercecupcake at 8:22 AM on July 25, 2019 [3 favorites]

Best answer: Mister Rogers' factory visits are the best! There's a whole set of them available on misterrogers.org. One of my favorite aspects (besides the wonderfully calming videos themselves) was the deliberateness with which Mister Rogers framed them - from the site: "“How people make things” – that’s how Mister Rogers refers to the factory visits. He wants to remind children that it’s people who make things, not just machines."
posted by DingoMutt at 8:36 AM on July 25, 2019 [5 favorites]

Best answer: The Lofty Pursuits YouTube channel (which I learned about here on MeFi a while back) is mellow, soothing, and educational if you want to learn about how candy is made. As a bonus, you can actually order the same stuff you see being handcrafted there (although with a 4-year-old you'll obviously want to ration it out).
posted by wanderingmind at 8:40 AM on July 25, 2019 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Oh, I have just the thing for you! Check out the National Film Board of Canada's "How do they...?" series.

For some reason that playlist doesn't include every film in the series (I found this one as well), you may want to search for others.
posted by ripley_ at 8:44 AM on July 25, 2019 [3 favorites]

Best answer: Fiestaware has a good one!
posted by rabbitrabbit at 8:44 AM on July 25, 2019 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: The "How It's Made" series is not quite what I'm looking for, mostly because the videos are too long and didn't seem very soothing, though they look pretty interesting. I'm looking for stuff to wind down and getting ready for bed.
posted by skewed at 8:56 AM on July 25, 2019

Best answer: I love the website https://thekidshouldseethis.com/
There's a 'diy' section that might have videos you like.
posted by threesquare at 9:00 AM on July 25, 2019 [2 favorites]

There are a ton of awesome candy-making videos out there. I just had to watch this one before coming back here because it's so cool.
posted by rabbitrabbit at 9:06 AM on July 25, 2019

PEEPS!
posted by rabbitrabbit at 9:09 AM on July 25, 2019

Best answer: My 5-year-old grandson loved the Primitive Technology videos on YouTube, and they even inspired him and his older sister to build huts for their stuffed animals. It’s how stuff is made without any tools except for what the person makes himself. They are mostly a little longer than what you’re looking for, but some of them are closer to five minutes in length. This one on making a bow and arrow is pretty short.
posted by FencingGal at 10:43 AM on July 25, 2019 [1 favorite]

Just google "Mr. Rogers How it's Made videos" and there are a ton. And because it's Mr. Rogers, they are soothing and sedate to a fault.
posted by mrfuga0 at 11:16 AM on July 25, 2019

Best answer: It might be difficult to find if you're not in the UK, but "Maddie's Do You Know" is a great kids' series that looks at how things work and how they are made. My son loved it at 4 and still does at 6.
posted by altolinguistic at 11:44 AM on July 25, 2019 [1 favorite]

I also was going to recommend "Maddie's Do you Know".
The five year old child who I am affiliated with is a big fan, and it's pretty entertaining for older humans also.
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 8:58 AM on July 26, 2019