Tumble Science Podcast for Kids

Is there a hard edge to the solar system? This question led to a big, breakthrough discovery that changed the way we picture the solar system - and every other solar system in the universe. The Kuiper Belt is a gigantic field of small, icy objects beyond Neptune, “planet scraps” left over from the formation of the planets. For many, many years, no one believed it might exist. Until astronomers Jane Luu and David Jewitt decided to see what was out there...

Who would win in a competition, a hamster or bacteria? Place your bets, because we’re going to tell the story of this epic science showdown. Danielle Tullman-Ercek is a synthetic biologist trying to find a better way to make life-saving medicine. To do it, she’s engineering a bacteria cell to compete with a medicine-making hamster cell. Listen to find out what if Danielle and her bacteria have what it takes to win...

How do species get their scientific names? To find out, Lindsay and Marshall take a field trip behind the scenes at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. That’s where we meet Chris Mah, a sea star scientist who has discovered and named over 50 new species! (You might remember him from “The Surprising Story of Sea Stars’ Sticky Feet...

Do you love fossils, adventure, and spending time in small spaces? If so, you could become an underground astronaut! Marina Elliot, Becca Peixotto, and Kenni Molopyane found this unusual job description through a Facebook ad, and landed deep inside a cave that few people can access. The team of archeologists talked to Tumble in the middle of excavating Homo Naledi, one of the biggest recent discoveries on the human family tree...

Join us for a journey through Tumble's favorite animal episodes! Swim with whale sharks in Mexico, climb mountains with pikas, travel back in time to discover our earliest primate relatives, and more. Download two hours of stories of animal science discovery, and you'll be all set to turn your road trip into an animal adventure.  For a collection of episodes about astronomy, check out The Road Trip To Outer Space.  We'll be back January 11 with brand new episodes. Have a great holiday!

We're going on an indoor expedition to discover the species in our own home! You’ll never look at the bugs in your house the same way again. Ecologist and author Rob Dunn is our guide to exploring what he calls, “the unknown we wake up in every morning.” We’ll find out how many species live in the average home (it’s more than you think!) and tell you how you can conduct your own scientific survey inside your house...

What’s it like to go inside the world’s largest bat colony? In this special bonus episode, we’re sharing part of our interview with Jessica Dreyer, modern day Bat Woman and biologist...

Today we’re presenting the first episode of Becoming Mother Nature, a show from our friends at Gen-Z Media. It’s recommended for listeners 9 and up. For the rest of our listeners, we’ll be back with a new Tumble episode next month! When Chloe is sent off to live with her mysterious and eccentric grandmother, she learns an unbelievable secret. Grandma Ivy is none other than Mother Nature herself! And Chloe is next in line to assume the power and responsibility of the job...

Not a true crime story, but a true science story! Starring a murder of crows, a person in a creepy mask, and one very curious scientist named Kaeli Swift. We unravel the mystery of what appears like scene from a Halloween fright night, but is actually an experiment designed to reveal the reasons for some very weird crow behavior. Turns out, you can get a lot of strange looks on the road to science discovery. NOTE: This episode is about the scientific study of death in animals...

It’s a scientific controversy of planetary proportions! Is Pluto a planet, or not? You decide, after we present two sides of an epic astronomy argument. Back in 2006, the International Astronomer’s Union voted on a definition of the word “planet” that excluded Pluto and other newly dubbed “dwarf planets” from planethood status. Astronomers - and everybody else - quickly chose sides. We dive deep into the debate and learn that Pluto’s not the only Space Object Formerly Known As A Planet...