Popular YouTuber and ex-NASA engineer Mark Rober has announced plans to bring his science and engineering education startup, CrunchLabs, to India.
Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Rober expressed confidence in India’s potential to become a key hub for his innovative ‘learning-through-failure’ model, stating, “I don’t think there’s a country that’s better suited for something like this.”
To ensure affordability and reach, Rober confirmed that CrunchLabs kits would be manufactured locally.
“We’re going to make it here. That’s the only way to do it,” he said. “That’s the Prime Minister’s pitch — Make in India. And I think we’re going to do it because this is such a great market.”
Blending YouTube With Hands-On Learning
CrunchLabs offers monthly STEM kits designed to accompany Rober’s wildly popular YouTube videos.
Each kit, developed over nearly a year, encourages young learners to experiment, tinker, and build — all while watching science come alive on screen.
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“We’re currently working on about 12 videos, and we release one video a month,” Rober shared, emphasising the long lead time involved in turning ideas into educational products.
Creativity On Constant Drive
Rober revealed that his creative process doesn’t rely on structured brainstorming. Instead, inspiration often strikes during everyday moments.
“The brain is just always on,” he explained. “The first step of the scientific method is observation. I might read an article, or have a conversation with a friend, and suddenly think, ‘That would be a great video.’”
One viral example is his squirrel obstacle course video, which he filmed in his backyard during the COVID-19 lockdown.
“That’s a little bit jugaad, right?” he joked. “It’s nothing fancy, and I think that resonates more than something in a polished lab with trained squirrels.”
Teaching Through Failure
At the heart of Rober’s mission is a commitment to normalising failure as an essential part of learning.
“Some of the videos I try and show that failure is part of the process. It doesn’t always work right away,” he said.
Referencing a project involving an egg drop from space, he noted, “That was really hard to do.”
He likened the mindset to playing video games: “If you fall into a pit, you don’t quit — you just try again. If you treat your life challenges the same way, you have more fun and learn much more.”
India As A Launchpad For EdTech Innovation
With its youthful population, expanding middle class, and growing enthusiasm for STEM, India offers fertile ground for Rober’s hybrid model of digital and physical learning.
The country’s digital infrastructure and appetite for innovation, he believes, make it uniquely positioned for CrunchLabs’ expansion.
From backyard squirrel courses to space experiments, Rober’s ultimate goal remains the same — to make science fun, tangible, and resilient for the next generation of thinkers.
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