There’s so much happening in the world of Tumble, and we’re excited to share it all with you! Plus we answer questions about plants with the help of plant biologist Carina Baskett.

Tumble Yoto Cards

 A brand-new pack of 3 cards with Tumble episodes on our most popular themes - Animals, Bugs, and Gross Science - for the Yoto audio player! 

Get it 20% off during Yoto’s Back to School sale on educational cards: https://us.yotoplay.com/products/animal-facts-critter-curiosities-gross-science-pack

Tumble Science in the Field: Europe

Our first ever audiobook featuring science adventure episodes in Europe! Find it where you get  your audiobooks: 

Audible , Libro.fm , Hoopla , Audiobooks.com , and more!!

Tumble Live Events!

Cambridge Science Festival in Cambridge, MA - Sept 21

Princeton Public Library, Thursday September 25th

The Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, Princeton University. Saturday September 27th

Connecticut River Museum in Essex, CT - October 11 

Lincoln Center, NYC - February 7, 2025

We can’t wait to see you there.

Is fire a liquid, a solid, or is it even matter at all? And what is the science of asking good questions? Lindsay and Marshall dig into the Tumble mailbag to answer listener questions with the help of Tumble's science advisors, and respond to reviews! Somehow, the whole "cats are evil" thing just refuses to die.

We want to hear from you! Send us YOUR science questions, and let us know what you think of this mailbag episode! Here's how to do it:

Want to support Tumble on Patreon? Go to patreon.com/tumblepodcast, and for a limited time you can get 75% off the first month using the code BTS2025 at check out!

You can also stream Science Songs vol. 1 here, or find the album on Bandcamp here.

Our merch store is tumblepodcast.dashery.com, where you can find the bird jacket t-shirt!

This is a summer rebroadcast of an episode of Tumble from a few years ago.

How big is the universe? And how do we know? It's a question that puzzled astronomers for centuries. They had no way to measure distance in space - until Henrietta Leavitt showed them how. Henrietta Leavitt was a "computer" in the 19th century, before there were computers, and she made an incredible discovery that would help change the way people thought about the universe - forever. Modern-day astronomer Karen Masters helps us tell her remarkable story.

If you like this episode, you'll love our free audio course, "Cataloging the Universe" where you'll learn much more about how Henrietta Leavitt's discovery made a big difference in astronomy - plus, you'll become a skywatcher yourself! "Cataloging the Universe" is more than a podcast. It’s interactive! Each episode - or lesson - in the series contains activities to complete while you listen. Plus, you’ll get discussion questions, graphic organizers, and a star journal to keep your observations in. Check out the series and download all the resources at ⁠our website⁠!

Hear more from Karen Masters in the bonus interview episode available to Patrons, when you pledge just $1 a month or more on our ⁠Patreon⁠ to support the show!

We have free resources available on ⁠our blog⁠ to learn more about the episode.

Also... psssssst.... here's that top secret crossword puzzle!

Do you know why four leaf clovers are so rare? Or if just one side of our brain can fall asleep? Why do fish have different colors, and how big is infinity? Lindsay & Marshall dig into the Tumble mailbag to answer listener questions with the help of Tumble’s science advisors, and respond to reviews! (Yes, we’ll talk about cats.) 

We want to hear from you! Send us YOUR science questions, and let us know what you think of this mailbag episode! Here’s how to do it:

Upload a voice recording on our website sciencepodcastforkids.com

Donate to Central Texas Flood Relief: bit.ly/tumbletexasfloods

Support Tumble on Patreon: patreon.com/tumblepodcast

Stream Science Songs Vol. 1 here!

Listen to our brand new album of science songs, and play some games along with us as we celebrate the release of our album: Science Songs Vol. 1! It’s a special summer episode that will get you singing along and testing your knowledge of everything from capybaras to planets!

Here’s where you can listen to the full album: 

Spotify: Listen on Spotify

Apple Music: Listen on Apple Music

Bandcamp: Support us on Bandcamp

Watch the music video for How Do You Catch a Happy Cappy? 

Check out our Dino Map Adventure.

Support Tumble on Patreon and get a birthday shoutout for just $5/month.

Follow us on Instagram, and subscribe to Tumble’s YouTube channel for full episodes and much more!

Would you fly to the top of a volcano that’s about to erupt at any moment? Volcanologist Helena Buurman did, and survived to tell the tale! In 2008, Helena was monitoring Mount Redoubt in Alaska, when the ground beneath the volcano began to shake. What follows is a tale of volcanic adventure, involving earthquakes, helicopters, and a massive eruption!

Tumble is on our summer break right now, working on some exciting new projects. Stay tuned to hear them in our feed!

We invite you to invent your own volcano! Find resources to learn more about volcano warning signs and eruptions, on our website at www.sciencepodcastforkids.com

We have more from our interview with Helena Buurman for our Patrons who pledge just $1/month or more. To listen, pledge today at patreon.com/tumblepodcast.

What if you found out that there was a tiny, nearly invisible type of plastic pollution that’s found nearly everywhere… but you’d never heard of it! That’s what happened to environmental scientist Jace Tunnell several years ago, and he’s been on a great nurdle hunt ever since! This episode on fighting plastic waste comes with a special bonus: the opportunity to enroll in a “Nurdle Patrol” and lead the Nurdle search in your community!

Join the Nurdle Patrol Special Agent Training Course at sciencepodcastforkids.com/nurdles

If you want to support Tumble on Patreon, just go to patreon.com/tumblepodcast. Ad-free early access to episodes is just $1/month, and for just $5/month you can get a birthday shout out on our feed!

T-shirts and other merch (including merch specific to this episode) are available at the Tumble merch store, at tumblepodcast.dashery.com.

To support the Tumble Joke-ha-thon and win awesome prizes, go here!

“Did dinosaurs burp?” Tune into our Season 9 premiere to find out the answer to this stinky question. We’ll hear about dino gasses from returning guest Jessica Whiteside and their potential ecological impact from David Wilkinson. Our dive into dinosaur digestion will lead us to a smelly look at gas in Earth’s past!

Listen to our bonus interview episode with Dave to learn more about how he studies the past without a time machine. You can hear it when you support us for just $1 on Spotify or on Patreon on patreon.com/tumblepodcast.

Free resources, including a transcript, are available on the blog on our website, sciencepodcastforkids.com

Check out our new Tumble t-shirts and merch: https://tumblepodcast.dashery.com/

🎉 We’re getting ready for our biggest live event ever — Sonic Saturday! It’s a day of science, sound, and storytelling in Brooklyn, NY on May 10, and we’re celebrating by rebroadcasting one of the episodes that inspired it all: The Science of Ocean Sounds. 🌊🔊

Come join us (and special guest Dan Saks from Noodle Loaf!) for two interactive shows, hands-on science, and live demos from amazing STEM educators — including accessible science activities for blind and low-vision communities. RSVP ⁠now⁠!

And if you can’t be there in person, don’t worry — we’ll have a recording available soon.

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Explore the sounds of ocean science on a sound scavenger hunt! Tune in as oceanographer Amy Bower takes us to the sea, to show us how she uses sound to study ocean currents and make ocean science accessible for blind and visually impaired people. Listen up and help us search for clues beneath the waves to reveal the secrets of the underwater realm!

Ocean data sonifications courtesy of Dr. Jon Bellona at Oregon State University, and the Accessible Oceans project.

Learn more about Dr. Amy Bower in our bonus interview episode, available to Patrons who pledge just $1 or more a month to support Tumble, at patreon.com/tumblepodcast.

We have free resources to keep exploring the world of ocean science and data sonification with Amy Bower. They’re on the blog at sciencepodcastforkids.com, along with a free transcript. 

This episode is the first in a series featuring blind scientists. The material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant Number # 2148711 - Engaging Blind, Visually Impaired, and Sighted Students in STEM with Storytelling through Podcasts.

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We're also launching a fundraiser! Go visit our donation page ⁠here⁠ to make a tax deductible donation, support your favorite joke tournament contestant, and maybe even win some cool prizes!

Why is the center of a raging storm so… calm? Tumble listener Lydia wants to know what’s really going on in the eye of a hurricane. To find out, we’re flying into the storm — literally — with meteorologist Shirley Murillo! Shirley is a real-life “hurricane hunter” who flies in a specially equipped airplane to collect data from inside the hurricane itself! Discover how hurricanes form, and what keeps the center of the storm calm, and what Shirley learned while flying through Hurricane Katrina, one of the most impactful storms in U.S. history. Buckle up — it's going to be a wild ride!

You can find a transcript of the episode and learn more about hurricane hunters on the blog at sciencepodcastforkids.com

Send us your science questions to [email protected] and leave a review on Apple Podcasts with the help of a grownup!

Support the show by becoming a Patreon member for just $1/month!

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant Number # 2415575 - Culturally Situated STEM Podcasts for Kids.