Tumble Science Podcast for Kids

We're working on a special project that we'll announce in our next episode! Enjoy one of our favorite episodes while we make it ready for you. Why and how do cats purr? That’s what Reid wants to know. It sounds like a simple question, but it leads us to a deep challenge: Can we ever understand cats? To find out, we launch a full-scale cat purr investigation. You’ll hear from a puzzled veterinarian, a scientist who studied her cat’s annoying purr, and the author of purring.org, the premier...

Why are sloths so slow? We’ll find out how one sloth scientist got crafty and discovered why slowness is a sloth’s secret to survival. Rebecca Cliffe, founder of the Sloth Conservation Foundation, shares the story of her quest to study these sneakily stealthy creatures, with the help of a special backpack. What she finds will definitely surprise and delight you! If you're like Marshall, you might even laugh/cry. To hear more about Rebecca’s slothsome adventures, listen to our bonus...

Explore the sounds of ocean science on a sound scavenger hunt! Tune in as oceanographer Amy Bower takes us to the sea, to show us how she uses sound to study ocean currents and make ocean science accessible for blind and visually impaired people. Listen up and help us search for clues beneath the waves to reveal the secrets of the underwater realm! Ocean data sonifications courtesy of Dr. Jon Bellona at the University of Oregon, and the Accessible Oceans project. Learn more about Dr. Amy...

A Black botanist is on a mission to discover the hidden stories of Black plant scientists throughout history. Shawn Abrahams shares how Black people are responsible for vanilla cupcakes, and the microscopes you use in science class! Plus, hear how Shawn started their own journey to becoming a botanist and historian, with the help of Wikipedia. Hear more stories from Black scientists featured on Tumble! Check out our blog post for a list of episodes. Learn more about how Shawn became a...

Join us on an Arctic adventure as we head out onto the sea ice with a polar bear scientist! Andrew Derocher shares exciting stories of flying in helicopters, getting bit by a polar bear cub, and discovering how polar bears are surviving in a warming world. Andrew explains what happens when polar bears move into human towns, in the bonus interview episode. It’s available to Patrons who pledge just a dollar or more a month on patreon.com/tumblepodcast. Teachers! Find a toolkit to share polar...

This is a re-broadcast of one of our most popular episodes of season 7, The Science of Butts! What is a butt? That’s what science journalist Katherine Wu wanted to know. Her quest for an answer leads her into a web of big butt questions, and a search to find the top butt scientists in the world. She discovers a debate over where butts come from, and a very strange butt that could rewrite the annals of butt history. This episode features an original song called, “Sometimes Butt.” Trust us,...

Join Marshall as he treks through a blizzard to find a warm spot by the fire, and listen to these great winter-themed episodes of Tumble. In this Road Trip Pack, you'll hear these episodes: Whether you're curled up by the fire with a cup of hot cocoa or out on a snow-shoe trek through the wilderness, enjoy these great episodes about science in the snow!

How likely is it that we’ll find intelligent alien life on other planets? Are there extraterrestrial civilizations that we could contact - or that could contact us? And what would these aliens be like? We’re going to try to answer these big questions with the help of two scientists, and a very famous math equation. Hear more from Kaitlin Rassmussen and Arik Kershenbaum in our special bonus interview episode, available to Patrons who pledge just $1 or more a month to support the show on...

In this special road-trip collection of Tumble episodes, you'll hear all about scientists who are making a difference in their communities. This episode pack contains: If you're a teacher and you want to participate in our group of teacher advisors, please follow this link to apply: https://bit.ly/TumbleTeachers

When you have to go, where does it go? That’s what our listener Ellie wants to know. Prepare for potty humor and science as we hear from civil engineer and toilet expert Francis de los Reyes! Who invented the toilet? And what’s “The Great Stink?” We’ll be plunging into the past, present, and future of flushing to discover how toilets don’t just save us from stinky smells - they save lives. Are you a teacher? Participate in our NSF-funded research project! Sign up here:...

Ever wonder what a mummy smells like? Or why millions of animals were mummified - including baboons? We climb into ancient tombs with Egyptologist Salima Ikram, to discover the science and culture of animal mummies. Salima is a real life tomb adventurer, cautious of scorpions and curious about the dead. Join us this Halloween as we excavate the secrets behind mummies! We’re participating in Nat Geo Kids’ Podcast Party: Ancient Egypt in honor of the 100th anniversary of the discovery of...

If there’s too much gas in the atmosphere, who you gonna call? Gas Busters! Find out how a bacteria from a rabbit’s gut could help fight climate change, in our final episode of Life Lab. This episode features Dr. Ryan Tappel of LanzaTech, and a song collaboration with Basho Mosko, of Basho & Friends! You can find a transcript and other educational materials about this episode on the blog on our website, sciencepodcastforkids.com. Life Lab is supported by the Engineering Biology Research...

Take the Kids Listen Survey! Tumble’s Life Lab Show at the Cambridge Science Festival Spider silk? Mushroom leather? Discover what’s next in fashion: Clothes made from synthetic biology. We hear the story of how a synthetic biologist went from collecting spiders in his bedroom to working with some of the biggest names in fashion. This episode features Dr. Dan Widmaier, CEO of Bolt Threads. You can find a transcript and other educational materials about this episode on the blog on our...

So far in Life Lab, we’ve uncovered the power of synthetic biology. But with great power comes great responsibility! In this episode, we’ll ask “Is this a good idea?” when it comes to changing the DNA of mosquitoes to fight a deadly virus. This episode features Dr. Sam Weiss Evans and his 8 year old daughter, Izzy Weiss Evans. Hear more from Sam about modified mosquitoes and making decisions about science, in our bonus interview episode! They’re available to Tumble Patrons who pledge just...

Should we make the move to Mars? And how would we live there? Join us as we pack our bags for Mars with the help of synthetic biology. We’ll find out how astronauts could grow their own food, medicine, and even building materials on the Red Planet. But when Lindsay and Marshall start to disagree about moving to another planet, some tricky questions threaten the mission… Welcome to Life Lab! This is the first part of our five part series about how tiny life can change our world. In Life Lab,...

What does cheese have to do with technology? What does engineering have to do with biology? And why should we know about it? We’ll slice into these questions to get a taste of what synthetic biology is, how it's already in our lives, and how it got there. Welcome to Life Lab! This is the first part of our five part series about how tiny life can change everything. In Life Lab, we explore the incredible power of synthetic biology to solve some of our biggest challenges - and asking how it...

Season 8 of Tumble begins September 16 with a special, five-part series called “Life Lab.” Life Lab will explore the incredible power of a new technology you probably haven’t heard of. This technology could solve some of the biggest challenges on our planet, and beyond. But with great power, comes great responsibility. We’ll be asking important questions about whether it could - or should - change our future. Bonus: Life Lab will be released weekly, for five weeks! After that, we’ll return...

Hear sounds created from images by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, in this updated episode! The biggest space telescope in the universe had a busy summer, wowing us with incredible images of the cosmos like we've never seen before. But it took a lot of work to get there! Learn about it in this episode, originally released in December 2021. Hear more Webb sound here. Watch the launch here. See Webb's first images here. How do you launch the largest space telescope ever built into...

Join Marshall for our final Road Trip adventure of the summer, as we travel back to the age of the dinosaurs! We'll be sharing a bunch of our favorite episodes about everyone's prehistoric creatures. In this collection, you'll find: You'll also get to help Marshall repair his broken time machine with some Dino-trivia questions after each episode. Enjoy! Support Tumble on Patreon: patreon.com/tumblepodcast

Tumble presents one of our favorite podcasts from RTÉjr Radio: Cereal! Deception, Mystery and so much more in “Cereal” RTÉjr Radio’s (not really) True Crime Podcast for all the family. Picture the scene. A brand new TV talent show for kids called “The Novice”. Middle Grade students battle it out to get funding and promotion for their mini company on the national stage. The candidates? Fergus, an ambitious eco-warrior who’s invented “The Bog Log” a product that turns your poop into compost...