Listen On: Water
Curated by: Rion Nakaya of The Kid Should See This.
Playlist runtime: 8 episodes, 2 hours 36 minutes (156 minutes) + 5 videos
Ear Snacks
Episode: “Rain!”
Listen: Apple Podcasts | Radio Public
Length: 20 minutes
Drip drop drip drop plink plink plink. Learn how water evaporates and transpires up into the atmosphere and then returns to Earth as rain and snow before it heads back up again. Andrew & Polly of Ear Snacks talk with the Kerry Falwell from the Glazer Children's Museum and water expert Jesse about the water cycle and the magic of water, rain, glaciers, and more.
But Why?
Episode: “Why is the sea salty?”
Listen: Apple Podcasts | Radio Public
Length: 24 minutes
Why does the water in the ocean taste different than river or tap water? Find out where that salty taste comes from and how saltwater and freshwater environments affect animals, including humans! But Why? host Jane Lindholm wades into some tide pools to discuss lobsters, making ships in bottles, and other seafaring stories.
Brains On!
Episode: “What's in your water?”
Listen: Apple Podcasts | Radio Public
Length: 26 minutes
When we turn on the tap, we expect clean, drinkable water will come out. But what can make water too dirty to drink? And what happens when your tap water isn't good for your health? This episode of Brains On! unpacks the challenges that have faced residents of Flint, Michigan and talks with kid scientist Gitanjali Rao who, inspired by Flint's water crisis, invented a device that can quickly detect lead in drinking water. A smart and emboldening take on current events for kids.
Tumble
Episode: “How to build a Robotic Eel”
Listen: Apple Podcasts | Radio Public
Length: 14 minutes
What kind of animal would you pick to make an awesome robot? In this episode of Tumble, Lindsay and Marshall talk with the robotics team that invented Envirobot, a swimming lamprey-like robot that's designed to detect pollutants in the water. Find out why they chose the surprising-looking creature, and why it often takes years to build and program robots... especially underwater ones.
Tumble
Episode: “The secret life of your shower with Noah Fierer”
Listen: Apple Podcasts | Radio Public
Length: 13 minutes
Citizen scientists! What microscopic life lives in the biofilm inside your showerhead? Are they different than those you'd find in a showerhead across the country? Or in the neighboring town? Enter biologist Noah Fierer and the Showerhead Microbiome Project. He's asking citizen scientists -- volunteers who want to help gather data -- to test their shower heads and their local water to map out how life thrives in these unseen, everyday spaces.
Brains On!
Episode: “The wonderful weirdness of water”
Listen: Apple Podcasts | Radio Public
Length: 29 minutes
Does water have superpowers? It expands when it freezes. It dissolves solids. It carved the Grand Canyon and helps life thrive on this blue planet floating in the vastness of space. Why is water weird and wonderful? Explore the chemistry and physics of this incredible substance that we bathe in, swim in, wash with, drink, and depend on every day.
Brains On!
Episode: “Water Water Everywhere -- but how does it get there?”
Listen: Brains On! website
Length: 21 minutes
It's mind-blowing to think that the water you drink has been around since before the dinosaurs! But where did it come from? And how do we keep that super old water clean enough for us to drink it from the tap? Visit the Minneapolis Water Treatment Plant with Brains On! to find out how they clean, treat, filter, and redistribute water. Plus: Learn why some buildings have water towers.
Peace Out
Episode: “Water Cycle”
Listen: Apple Podcasts | Radio Public
Length: 9 minutes
Imagine you're a part of a cloud, falling like a raindrop, riding within a river, and rising back up into the clouds to begin the cycle again. Calm down the day with a mindful Peace Out episode for all ages, a relaxing exercise that follows the water cycle in a memorable, experiential way.
Bonus Videos:
The Basics of Freshwater and Water Water Everywhere
These two water education videos from Crash Course Kids are excellent primers on the differences between freshwater and saltwater. Find out how much freshwater is accessible for human use, and how different animals -- like the nerpa of Lake Baikal and addax antelope of the Sahara Desert -- adapt to the availability of water where they live.
This stop-motion film chronicling the water cycle was created by animator (and former elementary school teacher) Emma Dougherty. A charming short set to a boogie-woogie beat.
“Ocean confetti” sounds like a fun, but unfortunately, it's a global challenge. This Minute Earth video explains how our plastic trash gets broken down into super small pieces called microplastics that find their way into our food chain. Follow this video with the NRDC's list of 10 Ways to Reduce Plastic Pollution.
Water Wheel Operating in a Rainstorm
Who can collect up to 50,000lbs of daily trash and debris from entering Baltimore Harbor? Who can add much-needed oxygen to the water, creating a more healthy environment for the water way's fish population? Who is powered by solar power and teaches both young and old about stormwater management? Meet Mr. Trash Wheel, Baltimore's trash-collecting water wheel.
H2O is a well-known scientific formula, but have you ever seen it proven? Learn how to separate water into its elemental components, oxygen and hydrogen, with a 9-volt battery, some Sculpey, two stainless steel screws, some salt, and a few other odds and ends. This DIY experiment from the Exploratorium's Science Snacks video series is super cool.
