“Why do seals have whiskers?” wondered six-year-old Karah from Baltimore, Maryland. In “The Science of Whiskers,” the Tumble Science Podcast for Kids team was determined to find out. They interviewed “whisker scientist” Robyn Grant and explored how animals use whiskers “just like we use our senses to navigate our world.” Their second award-winning podcast on “The Cave of the Underground Astronauts” adopted the same sense of curiosity, with the podcast team interviewing archaeologists working in a subterranean cave in South Africa. The “underground astronauts” Skype in from 30 meters underground to discuss everything from the “superman’s crawl” they use to enter the cave to the fossilized remains of the ancient human relative Homo naledi discovered in the cave six years ago. “The originality and creativity that went into these two pieces is remarkable,” said Christine Dell’Amore, a National Geographic editor. “These podcasts taught kids a ton about science in a fun and engaging way.” Lindsay Patterson said Tumble's mission is “to improve science literacy for younger generations, by telling engaging stories about how science actually works.” She added, “Receiving this award is a sign that our style of storytelling really works to communicate to kids the curiosity, excitement, and adventure that drives the scientific process.”
