Tumble Science Podcast for Kids

What does it take to become an inventor? To find out, we spoke with an inventor named Josh Miele about one of his greatest inventions: tactile maps! Tactile maps use braille technology to help blind people explore their neighborhoods with their fingers first. But how does Josh create brand-new inventions? Tune in to find out how inventors bring new ideas to life, and stick around to find out...

Why do some animals play - and some don’t? That’s what Meredith wants to know. In this special collaboration with Outside/In, we investigate how and why animals - and people! - of all shapes and sizes play. Play scientists Junyi Chu and Jackson Ham help us ask the important questions like: Can you tell an octopus to play? And what can rats teach us about why taking turns is important? It turns...

Why do capybaras have such big teeth? Adrian had to know! To get to the bottom of this, we spoke to a biologist named Santiago Herrera Alvarez. Capybaras are Internet sensations, and Santiago can't get enough of them! Santiago's questions were even bigger than capybara teeth: how did capybaras, a relative of rodents like mice and rats, get to be so enormous? Tune in for a capybara rodeo, and...

How does vision work? That’s what Junie wants to know. And is it possible to create vision for people who don’t see? We’ll dive into the mysteries of how we see with Lucas Nadolskis, a scientist who became blind when he was five. Lucas is studying how vision works in the brain to understand if it’s possible to see without using your eyes! Intrigued? Listen in to find out more of the mysteries...

Why are there so many axolotls in fishtanks, and so few in the wild? That’s what Maximiliano wants to know. You may have found axolotls in the lush caves of Minecraft, but in real life, they live in the lakes and canals of Xochimilco, near Mexico City. But the species is slowly disappearing from its native habitat. Axolotl veterinarian Horacio Mena takes us on a journey to Xochimilco to find out...

Happy New Year! This is a rebroadcast of “Polar Bear Adventure” from Season 8!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...

Happy holidays! This is a rebroadcast of our chilly Season 7 episode, The Great Seal Count.How do you count the cutest seals on the planet? With the help from thousands of people around the world! Conservation scientist Leo Salas explains the story behind the first-ever global count of Weddell seals in Antarctica. Plus, you’ll find out what counting seals shares with searching for ancient...

This is a rebroadcast of one of our favorite episodes from Season 8!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.Listen...

This is a re-airing of our award-winning episode The Swift Quake! This episode won the AAAS Kavli Silver Medal Award for excellence in Children's Science News, as well as a Signal Award for kid's podcasts. Give it a listen!How do you think a stadium full of Taylor Swift fans would shake the earth? Tumble enters the Swiftiverse with Jackie Caplan-Auerbach, the scientist who discovered the “Swift...

What does it feel like to be in space? That’s what Elijah wants to know. So we’re taking off on a zero-gravity flight to find out! Guest reporter Jason Strother shares the story of Sheri Wells-Jensen, a blind scientist who is paving the way for people with disabilities to go to space. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant Number # 2148711 -...