The Washington Post is releasing its first dedicated kids YouTube channel, Anna’s Science Magic Show Hooray. Using a variety show format, the animated/live-action series will focus on science, health and technology.
Episodes will be released every other month, featuring questions from celebrity guests and interviews with scientists. Kicking things off is “Why do we have butts?” submitted by pro wrestler John Cena. Future episodes will focus on everything from outer space to slime, with all the animation done in-house.
Along with the main series, the channel will also include a weekly video feature called Anna’s Help Desk, in which Post science reporter Anna Rothschild answers kids’ science questions. Each video will include self-produced animation, interviews, songs and whimsical commentary to help make the answers more engaging.
Rothschild was formerly the host of a PBS/Nova YouTube series entitled Gross Science, which amassed more than 22 million views.
This is only the second time The Washington Post has launched a YouTube channel, the first being its flagship with 350,000 subscribers and 200 million overall views. The company has dipped its toes into kids content on YouTube before with the series Short Takes, where kids share their takes on pop culture and politics.