Why do ants and bees both work so hard — and which one works harder? That's what listener Hadi wants to know! In this episode, you'll meet Dr. Sammy Ramsey, an entomologist who studies insects from around the world. He's going to be our judge as we pit ants against bees in four rounds to try to crown the Hardest Working Insect! 🎧 Listen to the Episode 🐜🐝 What Kids Will Learn Why scientists study animal behavior by comparing species — and what that reveals about evolution a

Can you tickle a dog? A rat? A chimpanzee? Our listeners have been wondering — and it turns out, the science of tickling is way weirder and more fascinating than anyone expected. In this special Mailbag edition, we answer your tickling questions with the help of a real tickle scientist, and Marshall debuts a brand-new song inspired by a listener's spider roommate! 🎶🕷️ 🎧 Listen to the Episode 🤣What Kids Will Learn Whether dogs, rats, and other animals can be tickled — and

Do trees think? That's the question nine-year-old listener Alden wanted to find out — and he already had a hunch that mushroom roots might be involved. In this episode, you'll meet a young soil scientist named Natalia Mondi, who studies forests from the ground up. She'll take us underground to discover how trees send messages through a hidden network — and how that knowledge is helping to heal a sick forest in Canada. 🎧 Listen to the Episode 🌲 What Kids Will Learn Why tree

Why do we have five fingers, and not five, six or seven? And if we lose a finger, why can't we grow it back? In this episode you'll meet a scientist named Jessica Whited who's on a mission to learn the answer to those questions. She's studying Axolotls to see if we can learn their secrets to growing limbs after they've been lost. 🎧 Listen to the Episode 🦎What Kids Will Learn Why most humans have five fingers — and how evolution and our common ancestors shaped our hands. How

Do animals have friends? And what are those friendships like? In this episode we'll meet two scientists who have spent their life studying animal friendships. Karen Bales and Annaliese Beery each specialize in studying adorable animals who love to spend time with their closest friends. Listen in to find out what they've learned from animal besties! 🎧 Listen to the Episode 🐭 What Kids Will Learn How scientists look at animal's behavior to try to tell what it might be thinki

Ever wondered what a fish sounds like? Spoiler: it’s way more interesting than “blub blub blub.” In this episode of Tumble Science Podcast for Kids, we explore the strange and hilarious noises that fish use to communicate underwater — from tiny ticking herrings to the booping Gulf toadfish. Grab your imaginary snorkel, because we’re going underwater to hear the ocean in a whole new way. 🎧 Listen to the Episode 🌊 What Kids Will Learn How fish make sounds underwater using s

Why do some animals play-and some don't? That's what Evelyn 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 Juny 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 out that play is serious science! 🎧 Listen to the Episode This episode is a collaborat

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 stick around to find out how one little animal can grow to superstardom. Learn more

Why are there so many axolotls living in fishtanks (and in Minecraft), but so few in the wild?

Oops… Did we get cats all wrong? 🙀In last year’s Halloween episode, we may have called cats “evil” - and listeners had something to say about it. Listen to find if cat behaviorist Dr. Mikel Maria Delgado can change our purr-spective on cats! From spooky suspicions to paw-some facts, this episode is a purr-fectly spooky treat! 🎃🐈‍⬛ Learn more about Mikel and how you can study your cats in our bonus interview extra on Patreon ! 🎧 Listen to the Episode 🔎About The Featured