Tumble Science Podcast for Kids

Do fungi breathe? That’s what listener Alice wants to know - and we’ll find out in our punniest episode yet! We visit the Fungarium - the largest and oldest collection of fungi in the world with curator Lee Davies, who describes himself as a “librarian” of mushrooms. We’ll explore how fungi live and die, and why there’s so many species left to discover. Watch out for the zombie fungi! And beware, Lindsay and Marshall don’t hold back on the “fun guy” puns!

Join Marshall on a Cave Road Trip! On Season 8’s last road trip, you’ll find cave-themed episodes of Tumble, featuring bats and archaeology! Avoid the stalagmites and tune in to these fun episodes:

• The Journey to the Bat Cave

• Inside the Bat Cave [BONUS]

• The Cave of the Underground Astronauts

• The Cave of The Neanderthal Tools

Free resources, including a transcript for each episode, are available on the blog on our website, sciencepodcastforkids.com

We're still on vacation, and while we wait to come back for our ninth season of Tumble Science Podcast for Kids, we're sharing one of our favorite episodes from a few years ago: The Cave of the Neanderthal Tools.

What tools did Neanderthals use? That’s what Leo wants to know. We dig into the past of Neanderthal archeology, back to when people used to excavate caves with dynamite! Archeologist and author Rebecca Wragg Sykes shares the explosive story of how Neanderthals made tools, and what they can tell us about how Neanderthals lived.

Listen to our bonus interview episode with Rebecca about Neanderthals caves, available for Patrons who pledge just $1/ month or more on patreon.com/tumblepodcast.

About The Ten News

 The Ten News podcast explores topics that kids care about most including events, sports, science, gaming, pop culture, entertainment, and more!  It’s a great way for you and your family to stay connected with what’s going on in the world.  The Ten News also features some pretty awesome guests; LEGO Masters Judge Amy Corbett, America’s top doctor Dr. Anthony Fauci, Sarah Natochenny, the voice of Ash Ketchum for Pokemon fans, and many more.  Our episodes are all about staying kind, cool, and curious.  We hope you enjoy listening to The Ten News!

This special Road Trip edition of Tumble includes all five episodes of our Life Lab series, back to back! Listen to hear how scientists are using tiny life to go to Mars, solve climate change, make better clothes, and much, much more.

Life Lab explores 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 ask important questions about whether it could - or should - change our future.

It's Tumble's first science quiz edition! Play along as Tumble fans Arlo and Talyse compete in three science games: Purr Vs. Roar, What Does the ____ Say?, and Does It Fart? Lindsay and Marshall play quiz masters, while their contestants make a surprising discovery. And that's before the quiz even starts!

If you enjoyed this quiz show and would like to hear more, let us know!

To support our show and get ad-free episodes - plus the chance to be on an episode like Arlo and Taylse - join our Patreon at Patreon.com/tumblepodcast. Listeners help us keep making Tumble and give us the freedom to try new things!

We'll be back with all new, original episodes in September 2024.

We'll be back with a new episode in two weeks!

What would Earth be like if our oceans never existed? That’s what Charlie wants to know! We recruit Earth detective Lucia Perez-Diaz to help us track down clues hidden within our planet’s rocks. Our investigation takes us through the mysteries of how water got on Earth, the giant plates moving beneath our feet, and why our oceans are shaped the way they are. Lucia’s also an illustrator, and will draw us an Earth without oceans. What will it look like? Listen to find out.

“Do dogs think and feel the way we do?” We all know dogs can’t talk. That’s why scientists have to come up with creative ways of asking our canine companions what’s going on in their minds. We’ll find out why dog cognition scientist Zachary Silver put on a play for dogs - which inspired us to create Tumble’s very first dog radio theater production! Just call us “The Tumble Dog Players.” It will all make sense by the end of the episode.

This is the final episode of Tumble’s 8th season! But stay subscribed for some special treats over the summer. 

Hear more from our interview with Zachary Silver on our bonus interview episode. It’s available for listeners who pledge $1 or more a month on Patreon.com/tumblepodcast.

Free resources, including a transcript, are available on the blog on our website, sciencepodcastforkids.com

Can we hear and touch the stars, if we can’t see them? Yuma Decaux is trying to put the night sky into everyone’s hands, through technology and engineering. Find out how stargazing captured Yuma’s imagination when he was six, and how losing his sight inspired him to explore the cosmos in a whole new way - making astronomy accessible to everyone. 

When did smartness begin? We’ll find out how a neuroscientist blends up brains, and cracks the case of the Tyrannosaurus Rex smarts! Suzana Herculano-Houzel helps us answer listener Penny’s question by explaining how “smartness” might not mean what you think - and how all animals have shown off their intelligence over time.

Have you ever wondered what bird you’re hearing? We’re going to discover how to recognize birds by their sound - and what that means for science. Trevor Attenberg is an environmental scientist and science communicator who learned to identify birds without sight, by their sound alone. He takes us through his journey to becoming a birder and a scientist, and shares how you can learn to recognize birds by their sound. 

How big is the universe? And how do we know? It's a question that puzzled astronomers for centuries. They had no way to measure distance in space - until Henrietta Leavitt showed them how. Henrietta Leavitt was a "computer" in the 19th century, before there were computers, and she made an incredible discovery that would help change the way people thought about the universe - forever. Modern-day astronomer Karen Masters helps us tell her remarkable story.

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.

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.

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.

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, it’s a fun one! (And yes, we say the word “butt” and other butt-related words a lot.)

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.

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 King Tut’s tomb. Together with other kids podcasts we are making episode about Ancient Egypt. If you are interested in listening to more, check out Greeking Out. 

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!

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.

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, we explore the incredible power of synthetic biology to solve some of our biggest challenges - and asking how it could change our future.

This episode features Adam Arkin and Kris Prather.

Life Lab is supported by the Engineering Biology Research Consortium, a non-profit committed to educating the next-generation and building a community dedicated to solving big challenges with engineering biology. Funded by the National Science Foundation.