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Welcome back, young scientists. I’m Dr. Universe.  If you’re anything like me, you’ve got lots of big questions about our world.
 
Today we're talking about babies with Masha Gartstein, a psychologist who studies infant temperament at Washington State University. 

• Learn about the individual differences that make up a baby's temperament and how scientists study it in the lab with real babies (Hint: It involves Halloween masks!)
• Hear about Dr. Gartstein's job and her advice for kids who want to be scientists

Resources You Can Use

• Check out the Gartstein Infant Temperament Lab to learn more about Dr. Gartstein's work and see adorable photos of babies in the lab
• Watch the trailer for Babies, Season 2 (Netflix). Dr. Gartstein is on the episode called "Nature and Nurture." Some episodes from the first season are available on YouTube.

 As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.edu.  Who knows where your questions will take us next.

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Welcome back, young scientists. I’m Dr. Universe.  If you’re anything like me, you’ve got lots of big questions about our world.
 
Do you love insects? Me, too. In this episode, we meet Rich Zack, an insect scientist at Washington State University. 

• Learn about entomology, the study of insects and arthropods like spiders and scorpions, and how to study insects right now.
• Hear how Dr. Zack discovered his passion for entomology in college—and how there's a place in science for everyone.

Resources You Can Use

• Have an insect to identify? Try BugGuide or iNaturalist
• Check out insect content and community science projects at Xerces Society— and become a Xerces Kid
• See some of the WSU entomology museum with this throwback video
• Watch ultraHD videos of insects with Deep Look

 As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.edu.  Who knows where your questions will take us next.

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Hey, friends. I’m Dr. Universe. If you’re anything like me, you’ve got lots of big questions about our world.
   
 In this episode, we meet Adah Crandall. She’s an organizer with the Sunrise Movement. That's a youth-led organization working on solutions for climate change. She started organizing as a middle schooler when she took on the Oregon Department of Transportation. 

If you want to learn more, check out Sunrise on Instagram or the Green New Deal for Public Schools. 

 As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.edu.  Who knows where your questions will take us next.

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Welcome back, friends. I’m Dr. Universe. If you’re anything like me, you’ve got lots of big questions about our world.
   
 In this episode, we meet Emily Erickson. She’s part of the Western Monarch Mystery Challenge team. That’s a community science project that asks people to look for monarch butterflies in early spring and send in pictures to help scientists learn more about these important pollinators.

If you’re interested in helping monarch butterflies near you, check out these nectar plant guides from the Xerces Society.

 As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.edu.  Who knows where your questions will take us next.

Send us Fan Mail

Welcome back, young scientists. I’m Dr. Universe.  If you’re anything like me, you’ve got lots of big questions about our world.
  
It's not enough to just do science—you've got to get the science out so people can read all about it. That's where science writers come in.
 
In this episode, we meet Sara Zaske, a science writer at Washington State University. She also edits the Ask Dr. Universe column! 

 As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.edu.  Who knows where your questions will take us next.

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Welcome back, young scientists. I’m Dr. Universe.  If you’re anything like me, you’ve got lots of big questions about our world.
  
What's a postdoctoral fellow? How do rattlesnakes rattle? What's it like searching for snakes in the field or taking blood samples from a grizzly bear?
 
In this episode, we meet Blair Perry, a postdoctoral fellow at Washington State University. He uses the same methods to study the genes of snakes and bears! 

 As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.edu.  Who knows where your questions will take us next.

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Welcome back, young scientists. I’m Dr. Universe.  If you’re anything like me, you’ve got lots of big questions about our world.
 
 Do you love our solar system? Today, 4th graders from Palouse Prairie Charter School take me on a space tour in their Boomcrusher space shuttle. Come along!

Ask Dr. Universe is a service of Washington State University geared toward an 8- to 13-year-old audience. If your class or group is interested in working on a podcast episode with Dr. Universe, reach out. It takes about 6 months for young scientists to research and write a script and then work through editing, factchecking, and recording.

Sound effects courtesy Zapsplat.com. Thank you to Dr. Michael Allen (WSU Physics & Astronomy) for factchecking and to Northwest Public Broadcasting for recording.

 As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.edu.  Who knows where your questions will take us next.

Send us Fan Mail

Welcome back, young scientists. I’m Dr. Universe.  If you’re anything like me, you’ve got lots of big questions about our world.
  
 How do you become a scientist? What does a scientist's day look like? Is being a scientist fun?
 
 In this episode, we meet Nora Hickey, a fish veterinarian at Washington State University. We learn about fish medicine and why it’s important to follow your interests as you grow up. 

As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.edu.  Who knows where your questions will take us next.

Ask Dr. Universe is a service of Washington State University geared toward an 8- to 13-year-old audience. Check out WSU Veterinary Medicine’s Outreach Events—like the Teddy Bear Clinic—to find university experiences like Dr. Hickey had when she was a kid.

 As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.edu.  Who knows where your questions will take us next.

Send us Fan Mail

Welcome back, young scientists. I’m Dr. Universe.  If you’re anything like me, you’ve got lots of big questions about our world.
 
What was early Earth like? How did life start on Earth? And what’s up with plate tectonics?

In part two of this two-part episode, we meet geologist Johannes Haemmerli of Washington State University. We learn about early Earth, some brand-new research on plate tectonics and the idea that this process helped make Earth habitable.

As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.edu.  Who knows where your questions will take us next.

Ask Dr. Universe is a service of Washington State University geared toward an 8- to 13-year-old audience. Listeners working on the Middle School History of Earth Next Generation Science Standards may particularly enjoy this episode:

| MS-ESS1-4. | Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence from rock strata for how the geologic time scale is used to organize Earth's 4.6-billion-year-old history.
 
| MS-ESS2-2. | Construct an explanation based on evidence for how geoscience processes have changed Earth's surface at varying time and spatial scales.
 
| MS-ESS2-3. | Analyze and interpret data on the distribution of fossils and rocks, continental shapes, and seafloor structures to provide evidence of the past plate motions. 

 As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.edu.  Who knows where your questions will take us next.

Send us Fan Mail

What was early Earth like? How did life start on Earth? And what’s up with plate tectonics?

In part one of this two-part episode, we meet NASA scientist and Blue Marble Space Institute of Science founder Dr. Sanjoy Som. We learn about early Earth, stromatolites and how we can care for the planet that gave us life.

As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.edu. 

Ask Dr. Universe is a service of Washington State University curated for an 8- to 13-year-old audience. Listeners working on the Middle School History of Earth Next Generation Science Standards may particularly enjoy this episode:

| MS-ESS1-4. | Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence from rock strata for how the geologic time scale is used to organize Earth's 4.6-billion-year-old history.

| MS-ESS2-2. | Construct an explanation based on evidence for how geoscience processes have changed Earth's surface at varying time and spatial scales.

| MS-ESS2-3. | Analyze and interpret data on the distribution of fossils and rocks, continental shapes, and seafloor structures to provide evidence of the past plate motions. 

 As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.edu.  Who knows where your questions will take us next.