20 Inspiring TED Talks for Kids, Tweens & Teens

Looking to humble or inspire your tweens and teens? Here are 20 TED talks for kids that can do all that and more.

TED talks were founded back in 1984 as a conference and have been held in cities big and small in all corners of the world since 1990. Over the past decade or so, TED Talks have become more mainstream and are now widely used in the classroom and educational settings.

Being uploaded to Youtube as well as the dedicated TED website for free under the slogan ‘ideas worth spreading’. This makes Ted Talks for Kids more accessible and easy to find. There are many great role models for kids featured in Ted Talks and can help kids find that growth mindset needed to be successful today.

In this post, I’ll be sharing the 20 TED talks for kids which I believe every teen & tween should watch at least once. These talks are sure to inspire and humble your kids. Whether you are looking for ted talks on feminism, activism or education this exhaustive list has you covered.

Hopefully, the love for informative short videos in this presentation style won’t stop there and they’ll continue to watch more TED talks in the future too.

Here is my beautiful friend Becky delivering a Ted Talk on How to Raise Kind Children. This one you really need to listen too.

How to listen to Podcasts

You can find podcasts on Spotify, Apple or directly on websites. I enjoy listening to podcasts when I am driving, walking the dog or cooking dinner. I tend to listen with headphones, and I use airpods and so do my teenagers, which are available from Amazon. For my tween she uses a more affordable over the head pair of headphones which cost under £30!

Powerful Ted Talks for Kids

1. Science is for everyone, kids included – Beau Lotto and Amy O’Toole

This TED talk is a powerful one for anyone that might choose to watch it and focusses on the community aspect that play and science have in common.

Beau Lotto takes a very participative approach to science, arguing that to learn, change your view, and potentially change the views of others, you must be wholeheartedly involved. To that end, Amy O’Toole, a 12-year-old student, helped to run an experiment inspired by this approach.

That experiment was done by O’Toole and 25 of her classmates and led to the first peer-reviewed article written by schoolchildren. The article itself was on the subject of the Blackawton bees project.

2. Underwater astonishments – David Gallo

This TED talk is particularly good to watch with teens or tweens who have an interest in marine biology. Celebrating the work of pioneering ocean explorers like Edith Widdler and Roger Hanlon, this talk is a showcase of beautiful ocean creatures.

Among many different pieces of footage, David Gallo shows beautiful imagery of color-shifting cuttlefishes, a perfectly camouflaged octopus, and a host of neon fish who display their bioluminescence.

This might be a great way for a teen to ‘dip their toes’ into the world of marine biology – particularly if this video precedes a trip to the aquarium…

3. A promising test for pancreatic cancer… from a teenager – Jack Andraka

Teenagers often hear a lot of negativity directed towards themselves and their peers, so to see powerful role models like Andraka can be a great experience.

A huge proportion of pancreatic cancers are diagnosed late, at a point when a victim of the disease can have less than a two percent chance of survival. During the course of this talk, teen Jack Andraka talks about how he was able to develop a cheap, effective, and non-invasive early-warning pancreatic cancer test.

Showing teens how much of a difference they can make to the world is a great way to encourage their potential.

4. A teen just trying to figure it out – Tavi Gevinson

A departure from the science-dominated TED talks, this video is about conquering the social barriers that can seem so oppressive when you’re a teenager.

Fifteen-year-old Tavi Gevinson speaks about how difficult she found it to find strong female, teenage role models. She didn’t want other people to have that difficulty, so she built a space where these strong people could find each other.

In the course of her talk, she goes on to discuss how her site – Rookie, a wildly popular web magazine for and by teen girls – is helping to make the unapologetically complex face of modern feminism a reality.

5. If I should have a daughter… – Sarah Kay

In a very moving and poignant talk, Sarah Kay takes us on the journey of the metamorphosis she’s gone through in her life. She starts with her experiences as a teenager in love with poetry and ends with her role as a teacher that connects kids with the power of expression.

Kay, a spoken word poet, feels strongly about the power and utility of ensuring our kids can express themselves. In her talk, she gives two powerful performances, one of ‘B’, and another of ‘Hiroshima’.

This talk inspired standing ovations at TED2011 and is worth listening to with any teens with a passion for literature and language.

6. The astounding athletic power of quadcopters – Raffaello D’Andrea

In our modern world, the views of teens may look towards an incredibly high-tech future. During the course of his talk, D’Andrea demonstrates his flying quadcopters – a powerful symbol of the technology of tomorrow.

In an impressive series of tests, D’Andrea demonstrates the impressiveness of his drones: they play catch, balance, and make decisions as a unit. D’Andrea mentions how the drones are controlled with an algorithm that helps them to learn and improve.

There is also a supremely impressive demonstration of Kinect-controlled quads. This talk may be perfect for tweens and teens with a burgeoning interest in computer science and coding.

7. How boredom can lead to your most brilliant ideas – Manoush Zomorodi

Learning how to effectively, regularly, and efficiently problem-solve in your day to day life is a really important skill for kids of all ages to learn.

In this inspiring TED talk, Zomorodi explains how a lack of input to your brain can actually help you get more done. If you see your child, teen, or tween getting frustrated as they keep staring at a problem and trying to solve it, this talk may be very helpful for them.

It may help them to learn how stepping back and taking a break from intensive work can lead to developing ideas in a person’s brain. Boredom is something that most tweens and teens absolutely loathe, but this talk could help them to see the upside.

8. Mathemagic – Arthur Benjamin

Mathemagic is a combination of two passions that Benjamin holds dear: mathematics, and magic.

In this impressive performance, we see Benjamin doing a number of ‘magic tricks’, which he later reveals he is actually able to do without any magical aid. The secret, he reveals, is a few specific tricks, and a lot of practice.

A great example of one of his tricks is performing three-digit multiplication in his head, faster than the calculator-equipped helpers who are on stage with him. If you know a tween or teen with a passion for number-crunching, this may be the TED talk for them!

9. Hands-on science with squishy circuits – AnnMarie Thomas

Learning using electricity can be one of the most fun ways to kindle a passion for physics. In this TED talk, we see Thomas making a number of squishable, approachable circuits using homemade play-dough.

This lowers the barrier of entry for a number of different electrical disciplines and may lead tweens, in particular, to an interest in circuits. This talk could be good to preface a weekend of home-learning, where you could make the play dough seen in this impressive TED talk.

This talk may be especially good for tweens who have a passion for creative subjects and need a little help seeing academia in a slightly different light.

10. 12-year-old app developer – Thomas Suarez

As the title might suggest, the speaker in this TED talk is a twelve-year-old child, who taught himself how to make apps using iPhone’s software development kit.

This is a particularly impressive talk, as it covers the basic concept you might expect (app developing at a young age), while also leaving you with a powerful message about the accessibility of information.

Suarez noticed that there weren’t a lot of resources available to give young people a start in app development, in spite of there being a huge demand for it. In response to that, he hopes to change things by sharing his knowledge with as many people as possible.

11. The danger of silence – Clint Smith

This is a particularly powerful ted talks for kids, in which Smith, a teacher, explains the inherent and dangerous links between silence and discrimination.

In the course of his talk, Smith encourages the watcher to consider everything in the world around them: ‘Read critically. Write consciously. Speak clearly. Tell your truth.’

Powerfully, Smith uses his time on stage to encourage us all to speak up when we’re aware of injustice, rather than looking the other way.

This talk may be particularly good for older teens who have a passion for being politically active and resolving problems that they see in the world around them.

12. How to start a movement – Derek Sivers

In another powerful, politically conscious TED talk, Sivers deftly and easily takes us through the process of how a movement can start in the world around us.

In less than three minutes, he takes the viewer through the process and enables us to see what we can do to change the world around us. In his talk, he shares an important perspective on leadership and the lessons that we can learn from people who have the courage to take part in a movement.

A powerful takeaway from this talk is the speed at which a movement can begin. Sivers takes us through the formation process in real-time, allowing us to better understand the true weight of his message.

13. The magic ingredient that brings Pixar movies to life – Danielle Feinberg

Feinberg is Pixar’s director of photography, and in her talk, we go behind the scenes of Pixar, a studio in which science and art collide spectacularly.

During the course of this ted talk for kids, Feinberg shares her views on the power of storytelling in our world (and the animated ones from Pixar), as well as letting us see the types of three-dimensional worlds that Pixar makes for it’s powerful, impressive movies.

Pixar has long been known for its cutting edge way of making films, and this talk is a fantastic way to step into that world, allowing us a glimpse behind the curtain, as it were.

14. Why videos go viral – Kevin Allocca

Of all the videos that get shared online every single day, only a tiny percentage of them actually go viral. These videos become part of a very modern cultural phenomenon and are somewhat immortalized.

What is it that makes these videos spiral into such extreme popularity, and how? Allocca is the trends manager at YouTube, and in his talk, he details how he believes that we’re currently living in a world where since anyone has access, the audience defines the popularity of the content they’re consuming.

This talk may be particularly interesting for teens that are into the numbers side of data in a big way.

15. The power of passion and perseverance – Angela Lee Duckworth

Duckworth began her career as a public school teacher, before turning psychologist and researcher. In the course of the research that she’s carried out, she discovered that a person’s success was not as closely tied with their IQ as one might expect.

In this deeply motivational talk, Duckworth explores the findings from her research, and what they mean with regards to having and maintaining a passionate, persevering personality in ourselves.

She makes all these points through the lens of student learning, so this may be a particularly powerful talk to watch with a tween or teen who’s currently going through a stressful exam period at school.

16. Why a good book is a secret door – Mac Barnett

This is a particularly light-hearted and playful TED talk that may appeal to a number of tweens and teens who’d love to be involved with the world of fiction.

Barnett is a children’s author who believes that everyone needs a little whimsy and fun in their lives, and that’s the subject of his talk: how we can have a better life by accepting fiction as part of our world.

Barnett plays a series of voice messages, introducing us to Nico, an imaginative child. Nico represents the powerful message of Barnett’s talk: how we could all do with a sprinkling of whimsy and wonder in our lives.

17. Your brain on video games – Daphne Bavelier

The nod to the old anti-drug campaign in the title is a great precursor to the subject of the talk. Bavelier is a brain scientist, who believes that people absorbing ‘doses’ of video games may actually be a good thing, in spite of the bad image that it has.

In her talk, Bavelier notes that the positive effects of video games include an increase in brain plasticity, learning, attention, and vision. These findings from the studies of numerous scientists are, Bavelier says, being used to make great impacts on education and rehabilitation.

This may be a great ted talk to share with a tween or teen that wants to make a splash in the world of neuroscience!

18. Inside the mind of a master procrastinator – Tim Urban

In perhaps the most relatable talk on this list, Urban offers a number of insights that would strike a chord with even the most hard-working of us all. In the process of his talk, Urban explains his model of procrastination, where there are two people who live inside our heads.

One is a rational decision-maker, who pays the taxes and goes to work, and one is an instant gratification monkey who buys ice cream far more than they should. Beginning to understand the mechanics of procrastination may help a teen who’s going through an intense study period.

A lot of teens want to do well in their studies, but find it hard to just sit down, and maintain focus. This talk may help to appease the instant gratification monkey, at least for a little while.

19. The power of introverts – Susan Cain

In the world, there are introverts (who favor their own company), and extroverts (who love to spend time with others). The society that we live in seems to favor the latter, though Cain makes the case that introverts are needed in the world.

During the course of her powerful, compelling talk, Cain explains why solitude matters to us all, not just the introverts among us, and how it contributes to creativity and leadership.

This may be a helpful ted talk for teens who are struggling with the social side of their life, as it may help them to figure out that their high school social life is actually not as important as it may seem.

20. Your body language may shape who you are – Amy Cuddy

Our body language can shape the whole world around us, Cuddy explains in her talk. It affects how others see us, and, by extension, how we see ourselves.

In her insightful talk, Cuddy discussed the research that she’s done on ‘power posing’, and the effect that it can have on our brain chemistry.

It’s simple, she explains: your body language has an effect on your brain chemistry, and your brain chemistry has an effect on your mood.

This ted talk for kids is another that may be great for teens who are struggling with their social life, as it may help them to learn that how they think of themselves is much more important than what other people think of them.

Final Thoughts

Do let me know what you think of these inspiring and thought provoking Ted Talks for kids – I’d love to know what else you would add to the list and which ted talk hit you powerfully. Also, check out this post on Podcasts for Teenagers.

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