Tumble Science Podcast for Kids

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: https://bit.ly/TumbleTeachersLearn more about toilets and sanitation around the world, on our bonus interview episode with Francis de los Reyes. It’s available to Patreons who pledge just $1 a month at patreon.com/tumblepodcast.We have free resources about this episode on the blog on our website: https://www.sciencepodcastforkids.com/single-post/how-do-toilets-workAll episodes have transcripts now! 

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.  We're also participating in a Kids Listen Survey! Grownups, take a moment to tell us about your family media habits in this quick survey.  Hear more from Salima in a bonus interview episode available on our ad-free Patreon feed! It’s available for just $1/month when you pledge to support Tumble at patreon.com/tumblepodcast. We have free resources about this episode available on the blog on our website, sciencepodcastforkids.com. 

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 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. Find more of Basho’s educational music here.

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 website, sciencepodcastforkids.com.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.

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 a dollar or more a month, on patreon.com/tumblepodcast. 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 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.

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. We have two bonus interviews for you this week, featuring Christina and Kris! They’re available to Tumble Patrons who pledge just a dollar or more a month, on patreon.com/tumblepodcast. You can find a transcript and other educational materials about this episode on the blog on our website, sciencepodcastforkids.com. Episode Advertiser: National Children's Museum STEAM Daydream Podcast

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 could change our future.  This episode features Christina Agapakis and Kristala 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. We have two bonus interviews for you this week, featuring Christina and Kris! They’re available to Tumble Patrons who pledge just a dollar or more a month, on patreon.com/tumblepodcast. You can find a transcript and other educational materials about this episode on the blog on our website, sciencepodcastforkids.com.

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 to our regular schedule of science discovery, every other week. Help us spread the word! If you can’t wait for all new episodes of Tumble, tell your friends, family, and your teachers to listen along with you. Subscribe or follow wherever you listen to Tumble Science Podcast for Kids.

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 space? The James Webb Space Telescope will travel 1.5 million miles away from Earth to help answer some of our biggest questions about the universe. But first, it has to be launched on a rocket - and the telescope is too big to fit on a rocket. So NASA decided to fold it up - and then unfold it in space. How? NASA scientist Knicole Colón and NASA engineer Alphonso Stewart take us on a journey through the world’s biggest origami project. We have big news to share about Season 8 next week, so keep your ears out for the trailer! 

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: The Rise of the Dinosaurs  How to Be a Fossil Fixer  The Call of the Antarctic Dinosaur with Julia Clarke  The Dinosaur Asteroid 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