Weird But True!

Weird But True! is a children's fact and edutainment franchise from National Geographic Kids, built around short, surprising true facts about science, nature, and the world. It began as a feature in National Geographic Kids magazine and grew into a bestselling book series, a syndicated television series, a SiriusXM radio program, and later a Disney+ streaming series.¹

The book series

The first book, Weird But True: 300 Outrageous Facts, appeared in 2009, and numbered volumes followed annually, each presenting 300 facts with illustrations and photographs.^{2 • 3} The third volume was the first in the series to include "Fan Facts," outrageous facts submitted by readers.⁸ Larger compilations such as National Geographic Kids Ultimate Weird but True collect 1,000 facts in a single volume.⁹

The franchise has branched into themed editions. Weird But True! Dinosaurs (2020) packs 208 pages of dinosaur facts, including that T. rex had vision 13 times better than the average human's and that one dinosaur is named after Hogwarts, the wizarding school in Harry Potter.¹⁰ A Disney-branded edition pairs the fact format with Disney parks and film trivia, such as Goofy's original name and how many balloons it would take to lift Carl's house from Up (2009).¹¹ The annual Weird But True! World editions group facts by continent with a closing chapter on seas and space; the 2024 edition opens with upcoming odd holidays and events, noting that 2024 would have two solar eclipses, fewer than usual.⁷ Kirkus described the 2024 edition as lightly revised from the previous year, with bright photos, hokey wordplay, and a rudimentary pop quiz in each chapter, aimed at readers aged 8 to 11.⁷

The television series

In October 2016, National Geographic Kids launched the franchise on syndicated television and SiriusXM radio. The television series was hosted by science-loving siblings Charlie and Kirby Engelman, who explored topics from shipwrecks to the senses to extreme weather with humor and homemade visual aids; it aired primarily on Saturdays on FOX. The weekly radio series featured National Geographic Kids editors Becky Baines and Kate Hale on the Kids Place Live channel.¹

The syndicated version, Xploration Weird But True, was co-produced by Steve Rotfeld Productions and National Geographic Kids as part of the Xploration Station three-hour educational block, broadcast in over 100 million homes nationwide primarily on FOX stations. In May 2019 it won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Educational/Informational Series at the 46th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards.⁴ In 2021 the series received a nomination for Outstanding Daytime Hosts.¹²

Disney+ seasons. The series later moved to Disney+, running three seasons from 2016 to 2020 with 45 episodes of roughly 23 to 25 minutes each, rated TV-G.^{5 • 13} Seasons 1 and 2, with 17 and 15 episodes, kept the Engelman siblings as hosts; each episode explored a different topic, with ecologist Charlie and artist Kirby visiting experts and sites around the country.^{13 • 14} Season 3, a 13-episode run premiering on Disney+ on August 14, 2020, replaced Kirby with children's entertainer and educator Carly Ciarrocchi.⁶ Its episodes covered dinosaurs, national parks, farming, germs, photography, trains, venomous animals, the solar system, cooking, explorers, scuba diving, rockets, and camping, with weekly guest appearances from astrophysicist Michio Kaku, Nat Geo photographer Anand Varma, and SciStarter founder Darlene Cavalier.^{6 • 15}

Format and reception

The show combines in-studio segments built around elaborate paper-crafted sets with field segments in which the hosts travel to meet scientists, engineers, environmentalists, and other experts. Computer graphics and comedy skits break down the facts; Common Sense Media rated it for ages 8 and up and called it a fast-paced mix of documentary-style exploration and comedy, while noting that the amount of information in a single episode can feel overwhelming.¹⁴ All That's Good Productions led production for season 2, after which Disney+ picked up the series for season 3.¹⁶

The franchise has also been adapted internationally: National Geographic Kids Abu Dhabi produced an Arabic-language version covering educational, science, and general-knowledge facts in a factual entertainment format.¹⁷ A spin-off short-form series, Weirdest, Bestest, Truest, features the Engelman siblings sharing facts from the world of Weird But True!¹⁸

References

1. Weird But True! Hits the Airwaves, National Geographic (October 18, 2016)
2. Weird But True Series, Goodreads
3. Facts & Fun catalog, National Geographic Learning / Cengage
4. Xploration "Weird But True" Wins Daytime Emmy, Steve Rotfeld Productions (May 9, 2019)
5. Weird But True! – TV Series, Moviefone
6. Weird But True! fact sheet, National Geographic / Disney+
7. Weird But True! World 2024 review, Kirkus Reviews
8. Weird But True 3 front matter, National Geographic Learning
9. Ultimate Weird But True front matter, National Geographic Learning
10. National Geographic Kids Spring 2020 catalog
11. Weird But True! Disney, Disney Books
12. Steve Rotfeld Productions Earns Seven Daytime Emmy Nominations (July 7, 2021)
13. Weird But True! – streaming, JustWatch
14. Weird but True – Parents' Guide & TV Review, Common Sense Media
15. Weird But True! Season 3 episode list, TheTVDB
16. Weird But True, All That's Good Productions
17. National Geographic Kids Abu Dhabi Premieres 'Weird But True', Abu Dhabi City Guide
18. Weirdest, Bestest, Truest, National Geographic Kids

Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Unscripted, reality, and web-native series › Documentary, docudrama, and lifestyle series › Nature, wildlife, and science documentary series

Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026

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