STEM with Dr. Owl

Discover the science of human biology and anatomy by uncovering the surprising reasons behind our funniest bodily functions. Dr. Owl, Emma, and Ziggy dive into the mailbag to learn how a burp acts as a release valve for escaping gas and why a sneeze blasts out of your nose faster than the world's fastest human runner. Grab a clean spray bottle and join us for a fun at-home experiment!

Discover how Earth’s giant continents slowly move apart in this exciting episode about plate tectonics and the ancient supercontinent of Pangaea. Journey back 200 million years with Dr. Owl, Emma, and Ziggy the Robot to explore the puzzle-like fits of Africa and South America. Learn how massive underground forces move the ground beneath our feet, why the Atlantic Ocean is still growing today, and how scientists piece together clues from fossils to understand our changing Earth!

Learn how your amazing lungs and respiratory system work to deliver oxygen to your entire body. In this episode, Dr. Owl, Emma, and Ziggy the Robot go on a microscopic adventure down the "windpipe highway" to explore millions of tiny air balloons called alveoli and discover the breathing muscle that keeps us going. Tune in for a fun, interactive journey into human biology that includes a quick belly-breathing experiment you can try at home!

🚀 Why can we see the Moon during the day? What happens to water floating in space? And how do satellites stay up without falling to Earth?

Ziggy's mailbag is bursting with space questions! Join Dr. Owl, Emma, and Ziggy as they answer curious young explorers from around the world and uncover some amazing space mysteries.

🌠 Discover the difference between meteoroids, meteors, and meteorites, find out why water can boil and freeze in space, explore the secret behind the daytime Moon, and learn how satellites keep circling Earth!

A big thank-you to Rian, Callan, Skye...

Kids will learn the science behind daylight saving time, Earth's seasonal tilt, and human circadian rhythms in this educational earth science episode. Join Dr. Owl, Emma, and Ziggy the Robot as they investigate the mystery of the missing afternoon sunshine and discover why the hour between 1:00 AM and 2:00 AM just happened twice!

Discover how Earth's rotation, international time zones, and ultra-precise atomic clocks work together to keep the entire planet perfectly synchronized. Join Dr. Owl and Emma as they help Ziggy troubleshoot his worldwide virtual snack party when his friends from London and Tokyo log on at completely different hours!

Why are ghosts so scary? Do wolves really howl at the full moon? And why does your heart race when something gives you a fright? Join Dr. Owl, Emma, and Ziggy the Robot as they investigate spooky Halloween mysteries and uncover the surprising science behind fear! Discover how wolves communicate, why our brains sometimes see things that aren't there, and how our bodies react to scary surprises. Plus, learn a simple trick to help calm your nerves! A fun and fascinating Halloween science adventure for curious young explorers!

Discover the science of cartography, bird's-eye views, and scale as we learn exactly how humans map the world. Join Emma, Dr. Owl, and Ziggy the Robot as they decode a messy backyard treasure map, explore how symbols and legends work, and find out how modern satellites help us navigate from space!

Discover the science of marine biology and animal adaptations as we explore how snails, clams, and oysters build their own shells out of calcium carbonate. Join Dr. Owl, Emma, and Ziggy as they investigate nature's built-in 3D printers, find out why turtles can never leave their shells, and laugh at Ziggy's silly attempt to use a cardboard box as armor!

Explore the earth science and plant biology behind mysterious natural phenomena like low-hanging fog, giant pumpkins, and echoing limestone caves. Join Dr. Owl, Emma, and a very confused Ziggy as they open the Spooky Science Mailbag to learn about condensation, photosynthesis, and the real reason why dry autumn leaves crunch so loudly!

Learn the biology of muscle fatigue, ATP energy, and the human body in this interactive science episode. Join Dr. Owl, Curious Emma, and Ziggy the Robot as they perform a fun airplane wing experiment to discover how muscles use energy to hold our arms up against gravity. Find out why our arms don't actually gain weight when we are tired, and why taking a break is the ultimate way to recharge your energy coins!

Discover the fascinating world of structural engineering and physics as we explain how massive bridges are built to support heavy traffic without collapsing into the water. Join Dr. Owl, Emma, and Ziggy as they test out the invisible forces of tension and compression, and explore super-strong design shapes like arches and trusses. Plus, find out exactly why Ziggy's silly noodle-and-sticky-note bridge couldn't quite hold up a toy dump truck!

Discover the fascinating animal biology and adaptations behind the world's spookiest creatures as we explore why owls fly silently and whether toads really give you warts. Join Dr. Owl, Emma, and Ziggy as they dive into a haunted mailbag to learn how spiders spin their incredible webs and why jellyfish are transparent ocean ghosts. It is the perfect spooky season adventure for curious explorers!

In this episode, kids will learn the science behind natural rubber, polymers, and the chemical process of vulcanization that makes tires strong and bouncy balls jump. Join Dr. Owl, Emma, and Ziggy the Robot as they journey to a tropical rainforest to discover how milky tree sap transforms into everyday items—while Ziggy tries to plant a bouncy ball to grow his very own bouncy ball tree! Join our explorers' club and sign up for the newsletter at orbitalowl.com for more fun STEM activities and episode updates.

Discover the physics and chemistry behind gas density and buoyancy to understand why party balloons slowly shrink and fall to the floor. Join Dr. Owl, Emma, and Ziggy as they zoom in to the microscopic level to explore how tiny helium particles escape through solid-looking rubber polymers!

Discover the fascinating science of human anatomy as we explore the functions of blood cells, tooth enamel, bone healing, and the nervous system. Ziggy the Robot transforms the lab into a silly haunted house to answer your spookiest body mysteries. Join Dr. Owl and Emma to find out why we shudder, how broken bones fix themselves, and why our blood is like the ultimate rescue team!

Discover the science of temperature, thermal energy, and the lowest possible limit of cold known as absolute zero. Ride along in a wacky Temperature Elevator as we travel past freezing water, extreme Antarctic blizzards, and liquid nitrogen to find out just how chilly the universe can get. See if tiny particles really stop moving forever at the very bottom of the thermometer!

Explore the mechanical engineering and physics of hydraulics that give giant excavators their incredible lifting power. Answering fantastic questions from our curious explorers Everett and Kaiyi, Dr. Owl and Emma head to a muddy construction site to investigate how pressurized liquid, heavy counterweights, and wide tracks work together to move mountains of dirt. Plus, find out what happens when Ziggy tries to upgrade his own mechanical strength using a belly full of apple juice!

Learn how the Moon formed, why it changes shape, and what astronauts left behind in this special listener Q&A edition. Dr. Owl, Emma, and Ziggy dive into Ziggy's Mailbag to answer curious questions from real young explorers about lunar dust, gravity, and Apollo rocket missions. A fun, fact-filled lunar adventure explaining Earth's closest neighbor in space.

How do birds fly, how do bugs stay up, and why can’t people flap their arms and take off? Emma follows a bird from takeoff to landing while Ziggy tests his cardboard wings. Discover lift, gliding, the tiny wing moves of insects, and the machines that let humans fly.

Discover the science of extreme weather as we explain updrafts, wind shear, and how mesocyclones create tornadoes. Join Dr. Owl, Curious Emma, and a very dizzy Ziggy the Robot in the weather lab to solve the mystery of why only some thunderstorms spin. Find out exactly what ingredients it takes to build a twisting funnel cloud and learn important tornado safety tips along the way!

Discover the incredible science of plant biology, including how flowers use turgor pressure to bloom, why leaves change color in autumn, and how evergreen trees survive the freezing winter. Join Dr. Owl, Emma, and Ziggy as they open the mailbag to answer explorer questions and learn the secret superpower plants use to bend and reach the sunlight!

Discover the science behind REM sleep and why our brains create wild stories while we snooze. Join Dr. Owl, Emma, and Ziggy as they explore the three main ingredients of dreams and answer if scientists can actually watch what you are dreaming during a sleep study. From floating marshmallows to memory filing cabinets, find out what really happens inside your head when you close your eyes!

Discover the biology behind motion sickness and learn how the inner ear and eyes send mixed signals to the brain. Emma feels a little woozy on a winding road trip, prompting Dr. Owl, Emma, and Ziggy to investigate the body's hidden motion sensors. Tune in to solve the mystery of car sickness, learn how to prevent it, and find out exactly what happens when a robot tries out virtual reality!

Kids discover how microscopic atoms connect to create the amazing real-world materials all around us, from the water we drink to the iron hiding inside rocks. Emma and Dr. Owl open Ziggy’s overflowing mailbag to decode the Periodic Table, learn why glass shatters instead of bends, and stop one very hungry robot from eating a wooden desk. It’s a playful question-and-answer science adventure about chemistry and the tiny building blocks of our universe.

Learn the step-by-step science of architecture and engineering that goes into building a strong, safe house from the ground up. Join Dr. Owl, Emma, and Ziggy as they discover why you can't start a building with the roof, how concrete foundations keep houses from sinking, and the secret world of pipes and wires hiding inside your walls!

Discover the fascinating journey of drinking water from natural lakes and treatment plants through giant underground mains and home plumbing directly to your faucet. Join Dr. Owl, Emma, and Ziggy as they follow the pipes backward, answer trivia about water meters, and search for silly under-sink water gnomes!

🎵 Dive, dive, dive! Emma’s submarine song is back—now in an extended version!

Some of our little explorers loved the song from our submarine adventure and wanted to hear more, so here’s the full song for you to sing along and dive beneath the waves! 🌊🚢

Want to know how submarines really dive and rise? Check out our full submarine adventure too! 🦉🤖

Discover the physics of buoyancy, water displacement, and how heavy metal objects can float in this exciting underwater adventure. Join Emma, Dr. Owl, and Ziggy the Robot as they explore the secrets of ballast tanks, neutral buoyancy, and compressed air, plus stick around until the very end for a secret, high-energy hyperpop song about submarines! 

Discover the science of animal camouflage and biology as we explore how creatures disguise themselves in the wild. Join Emma, Dr. Owl, and Ziggy to find out if stick insects are nocturnal, why tigers need stripes to sneak through the grass, and how the amazing octopus changes its shape in the blink of an eye.

Kids learn the origins of human language, the fundamental science of grammar, and how words get their meaning in this engaging exploration of linguistics. Join Dr. Owl, Emma, and Ziggy the Robot as they answer six-year-old Agnes's brilliant question, play the quiet game, and discover why Ziggy wants to rename bananas into "squiggle-bops"! 

Kids discover how compasses, timers, sunscreen, thermoses, and microwaves use invisible forces and hidden processes to do their jobs. Emma and Dr. Owl follow five clues from Ziggy’s overflowing mailbag, test a timer, solve a thermos mystery, and stop one very sparkly spoon plan. It’s a playful question-and-answer science adventure about everyday engineering.

Kids discover how airplanes fly by exploring thrust, lift, drag, and the surprising power of invisible air. At an airport window, Emma, Dr. Owl, and Ziggy use a paper strip, a runaway balloon, a model wing, and three playful challenges to uncover what engines really do, how wings lift a heavy airplane, and why the wheels do not pull it down to land.

Children will learn the foundational chemistry concepts of atoms, protons, neutrons, and electrons in this educational episode. Join our heroes as they put on their Shrink-O-Matic goggles to explore a giant stadium-sized atom and find out why the universe is mostly made of empty space!

Discover the animal biology behind butterfly flight, skunk defense mechanisms, bird songs, and cephalopod arms in this exciting mailbag episode. Join Dr. Owl, Emma, and Ziggy as they rapidly answer listener questions about why moths fly into lights, how octopuses catch their food, and the amazing ways creatures use their built-in survival tools in the wild.

Discover the fascinating science behind the human immune system, what causes seasonal allergies, and how vaccines protect our bodies. Join Emma, Dr. Owl, and Ziggy as they uncover why harmless pollen triggers our histamine alarms and learn how vaccines act as a superhero training manual for our white blood cells.

Kids will discover the physics of balance and how hydraulic systems allow powerful machines to lift heavy objects without tipping over. Join Dr. Owl, Emma, and Ziggy as they explore "liquid muscles" and turn a giant tow truck into a playground seesaw. We’ll learn how heavy engines act as secret counterweights to keep everything steady on the road! 

Children will learn the foundational physics behind everyday engineering, exploring how air resistance slows parachutes and water pressure powers fire hoses. Join Dr. Owl, Curious Emma, and Ziggy the Robot as they dive into an overflowing mailbag of listener questions, uncovering the space-age secrets of memory foam and discovering how conveyor belts keep things moving!

Learn the science behind earthquakes, tectonic plates, and tsunamis in this earth-shaking geology lesson! Join Dr. Owl, Emma, and Ziggy as they use wooden blocks to experiment with friction, discover how fast the Earth's crust is moving, and find out why ocean waves grow into massive walls of water near the shore. Grab your safety goggles (and maybe a giant wrench) for a fun, scientific ride!

Discover the physics of friction and precision engineering behind how toy bricks connect without glue or magnets. Join Dr. Owl, Emma, and Ziggy as they explore the secrets of "clutch power" and find out what really happens when giant theme park models are built. Plus, listen in to hear if Ziggy can successfully secure a towering plastic castle using peanut butter!