Happy November, neighbor!Hello, Planeteers! Are you seeing fewer birds in your neighborhood? I know I am!In this episode, we take a look at what’s going on in the bird world. Are there fewer birds? Why is that? What can we do about it?Chuck Darwin gives us two words that have to do with birds, humans, and some other species, Tito gives us some very weird bird facts, and Captain Jack tells us some tools birds use that we use, too!There's a project PDF to go along with the episode that inv...

Happy October to you!Hello, Planeteers! Are you afraid of spiders? if so, you might have one of the most common fears on the planet! But, before you go running off and getting webs in your hair, check out this spiderific episode and let's see if we can change your mind. Or, at least bust some of the most common myths about spiders!In this episode, we take a deeper dive into the myths that surround spiders and put them to the test. Some are true and some are not, but they’re all fascinati...

Happy Fall to you!Hello, Planeteers! Are you seeing wasps everywhere all of a sudden? Are they crashing your picnics, trying to steal your food, or hovering around you like it’s their job? Do you think they are scary or looking for the best spot to sting you?In this episode, we take a deeper dive into the lifecycle of the wasp and find a greater understanding of their behavior. We also learn why we shouldn’t swat at them or try to shoo them away, and what we can do to help them and ourse...

Hello Planeteers!This week's episode is hosted by K.B. herself, and she tells us all about How to tell directions without a Compass!Did you know if you are outside and get lost, you can observe some patterns in nature and be able to tell which way is North and which way is South?And, this episode comes with a free PDF you can download that shows you how to make your own compass at home with just a few household items! You can find it HERE.If you want to watch the episode on video, you c...

Hello Planeteers!This week's episode is hosted by Captain Jack, and she tells us all about Jellyfish!Do you know what to do if you get stung by a Jellyfish? No, you don’t pee on it. I thought you did, but I was wrong. Find out the REAL actions to take in this episode.And, yes, this episode comes with a free PDF you can download. You can see pictures of 19 species of jellyfish and make your own jellyfish in a bottle. This project has a little bit of a twist I think you’ll like! You can f...

Hello Planeteers!This week's episode is hosted by Dr. Chuck Darwin, and he tells us all about staying cool during a heatwave!There are some super-fun ways to do this, and he also tells us how to make S’mores using a solar oven we can build ourselves!Yes, this episode comes with a free PDF you can download with the instructions on how to build a solar oven, and what materials you need. You can find it HERE.If you want to watch the episode on video, you can do that HERE. If you want 10 w...

Hello Planeteers!This week's episode is hosted by Tito the Treefrog, and he tells us all about the differences between Snails and Slugs.I mean they kinda look the same, except one has a shell, right? Are Slugs just homeless snails?We totally have the answer to that, and, of course, this episode comes with a free PDF you can download that has a Snail vs. Slug graphic and instructions for making a Snail habitat in your yard. You can find it HERE. If you want to watch the episode and see T...

Hello Planeteers!This week's episode is hosted by K.B, and she tells us all about Ocean Layers-what they are, what they’re called, and who lives in what layer.Did you know that places in the Ocean can be 36,000 feet deep? Wow, what can withstand the pressure and cold at that depth? We totally have the answer to that, and, of course, this episode comes with a free PDF you can download that has an Ocean Layer chart, a Marine Animal Habitat chart, and a fun Ocean in a Jar project you can ma...

Hello Planeteers!This week's episode is hosted by Captain Jack, and she tells us all about Ladybugs-why they are awesome, where to find them, and how to identify what species live near you.Did you know Ladybugs are also called Lady Beetles and Ladybirds, and there are about 5,000 different species? How can you tell what species your particular ladybugs are?We've got you covered, because, of course, this episode comes with a free PDF you can download that has a Ladybug ID chart, a Lifecycle ch...

Hello Planeteers!This week's episode is hosted by Dr. Chuck Darwin, and he tells us all about tides-what they are, what causes them, and what the different types of tides are. Did you know you can tell what type of tide the Ocean will have by knowing the type of tide common in the area and what phase the Moon is in? We talked about Moon Phases a couple of episodes ago, so you should know the Moon Phase just by looking at it. If not, be sure to catch that episode. The Moon is a fasci...

Hello Planeteers!Happy 4th of July, and welcome to Episode 4 of the Sunsational Summer Minicast series. K.B. is hosting this episode and she is talking all things related to Climate Change.This week's minicast had a bit of a subject change. We were going to talk about Tides with Dr. Chuck Darwin, but the United States Supreme Court made a ruling to limit the government's ability to combat climate change last week, so we thought we'd talk about what it is, what causes it, and how you can...

Hello Planeteers!Welcome to Episode 3 of the Sunsational Summer Minicast series!Captain Jack is hosting this episode and she is talking all things related to the Moon.Did you know that wolves don't actually howl at the Moon? Jack's got the facts, and being a dog, she would know, right?She also teaches us an easy way to tell if the Moon is waxing or waning immediately. I loved this part!As usual, there's a fun activity and worksheet PDF that goes with the episode and is free to download ...

Hello Planeteers!Welcome to Episode 2 of the Sunsational Summer Minicast series!Tito the treefrog is hosting this episode, and he goes in-depth with not only how to tell the temperature with crickets, but who starting it and when.Did you know there's an actual scientific law about this? There is, and Tito's got the scoop!As usual, we aren't going to leave you hanging. There's an activity and worksheet PDF that goes with the episode and is free to download HERE.If you want to take a deeper div...

Welcome to the first episode of the Sunsational Summer Series of Minicasts for kids! Every Monday until the end of August, we'll release a new episode with a playsheet and activity you can do that relates to the subject of the minicast.This week's episode is all about clouds-what are they, how they form, and the different types of clouds.Don't forget the PDF download with a photo checklist and a couple of cloud-related activities you can do at home. You can grab that HERE.If you want to...

In this episode all about Coral, that question gets answered and the answer wasn't what I thought it was!I also talk to Marine Biologist Dr. Sharon Wismer about coral reefs and why they are important, what challenges they face, and what we can do about it even if we don't live near the ocean. I don't, do you?Captain Jack tells us the difference between rocks, plants, and animals, Dr. Chuck Darwin gives us the definition of the big, scientific word for this episode and how to pronounce it (and...

Happy Spring to you!Hello, Planeteers! This is Pollinator season, and this episode is all about Butterflies! I had the opportunity to talk to Steve LaWarre, who is the Vice President of Horticulture at Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park here in Grand Rapids, Michigan.He talks to us about the Butterflies Are Blooming exhibition which runs from March 1st to April 30th, and gives us some great ideas about why butterflies are important and what we can do to help them in our own backy...

Happy Earth Day to you...and here is part 2!Happy Earth Day 2021, Planeteers! Since I had so much to talk about, I decided to split this episode into 2 parts, and this is part 2.In this second part, we are going to talk to Tracey Ritchie, who is the Director of Education at EarthDay.org.She tells us all about WHAT Earth Day is, WHEN it started, WHY it started, and WHO started it. (Hint: it's ALMOST as old as me. But not quite...)She gives us some great ideas about what kids and families can d...

Happy Earth Day to you...Happy Earth Day to you...Yes, this week is Earth Day 2021 and I had so much to talk about, I decided to split this episode into 2 parts! In this first part, we are going to do a project that I love: make our own straws!Seriously, it's not as hard as it sounds. I'll guide you through the whole process. This project will also be featured on the Kids Listen Activity app this week, too, so hopefully, we'll have a bunch of kids making their own straws fo...

Why do some animals hibernate in winter? Are they lazy? Do they not like winter sports? What exactly is Hibernation anyway?In this second show of season 2, we explore hibernation-what it really is, who does it, who doesn’t do it, and other states that look like hibernation but aren’t. Sound complicated? We break it down for you:)As many animals who do really hibernate ( and also those fake hibernators) are starting to become active again, we wanted to know the real scoop about it. There were ...

In this episode, we talk about the exciting discovery of a new snake species, and the man who discovered it, Jeff Weinell. He gave K.B some cool facts about the snake, even though it hasn't been studied in the wild. And, even cooler (well, besides the fact that it's a new species) is that he got to NAME it! What name did he decide on and why? If you discovered a new species, what would you name it? K.B. is thinking she might name it after Captain Jack.Chuck Darwin gives us a couple of new wor...