How do water slides work?

For the past 50 years, visitors to the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, D.C. were able to see giant pandas. But recently, China asked for those pandas back. (Technically, all pandas in the United States are considered “on loan” from China.) With pandas in the news, we’re bringing back the episode from our 2022 field trip to the zoo. Zookeeper Mariel Lally answered all of your panda questions. Among the questions we tackled: Why do animals live in the zoo? Why are pandas black and white? Do pandas hibernate? How can we save the pandas? Check out our social media pages for lots of pictures! Download our learning guides: PDF | Google Slide | Transcript

Why do we celebrate birthdays? Why do we have birthday cakes? Why do we blow out candles on our birthdays? Why are our birthdays on the same date but a different day of the week each year? This episode has answers to all of your birthday questions - plus we hear about unique birthday traditions sent in by our listeners!  Download our learning guides: PDF | Google Slide | Transcript

Why do some people like haunted houses and scary movies? What is fear? Why do humans have fear! Why do we get goosebumps, blink a lot and scream when we’re scared? Why are some of us afraid of what’s in our closet or under the bed at night? We look at fear, and the fun side of fear with Marc Andersen, who co-directs the Recreational Fear Lab at Aarhus University in Denmark. He studied fear and play and how they intersect. Turns out, moderate and controlled fear can actually have benefits to our mental health!

How is meat made in a lab? That’s what 10-year-old Nate in New Jersey wants to know! Scientists have figured out how to grow meat in laboratories. Some hope lab-grown meat will be able to help address issues like global food insecurity, agricultural pollution and animal cruelty. But 5-year-old Lorenzo in California wants to know why people have to eat meat anyway? But Why visits scientist Rachael Floreani of the Engineered Biomaterials Research Laboratory at the University of Vermont to learn more about how and why lab-grown meat is being developed. Download our learning guides: PDF | Google Slide | Transcript

Younger people have lots of questions about older people, like: Why do we age? Why do people get gray or white hair? Why do older people have wrinkles? Why do older people have veins that stick up? Why are older people more tired? Why do some people get shorter as they get older? Dr. Suvi Neukam, a geriatrician at Oregon Health and Sciences University, answers kids’ questions about aging in this episode.