Nat Theo Nature Lessons Rooted in the Bible

How do salmon journey from a freshwater river to the saltwater ocean? And after years at sea, how do they find their way home to the exact river where they hatched? Discover how God designed salmon just right for their incredible adventure.Here’s our trail map:Where Do Salmon Live?How Do Salmon Live In Both Fresh and Salt Water?Why Do Salmon Swim Upstream?Where Is Our True Home?Download this lesson’s free coloring sheet: https://thenaturaltheologyproject.com/why-do-salmon-swim-upstream/Related Lessons to listen to next:How Do Fish Breathe Underwater? The Curious Ways Creatures Breathe - Lesson 68: https://player.captivate.fm/episode/0fc09da4-deab-42ce-9e57-2a2d5e9a2d8c/How Does God Water All the Plants and Animals? Lesson 110: https://player.captivate.fm/episode/01e9495f-489d-46cf-9c58-e0be1b6084f3/Eryn's Books:Where Wonder Leads: An Adventure in God's Wild and Wonderful World: https://thenaturaltheologyproject.com/wonderMade to Marvel: 52 Family Devotions Exploring the Wild Wonders of God's Creation: https://thenaturaltheologyproject.com/marvelThe Nature of Rest: What the Bible and Creation Teach Us About Sabbath Living: https://www.amazon.com/Nature-Rest-Creation-Sabbath-Living/dp/0825448891Rooted in Wonder: Nurturing Your Family's Faith Through God's Creation: https://www.amazon.com/Rooted-Wonder-Nurturing-Familys-Creation/dp/0825447615936 Pennies: Discovering the Joy of Intentional Parenting: https://www.amazon.com/936-Pennies-Discovering-Intentional-Parenting/dp/0764219782Episode Links:Discover God’s designs in crabs and other ocean creatures with Apologia’s Swimming Creatures of the Fifth Day course: https://www.apologia.com/shop/zoology-2-course-set/Explore all of Apologia’s award-winning curriculum and courses: https://www.apologia.com/Nat Theo Club Bonus Video: https://thenaturaltheologyproject.com/memberGet full lesson guides in the Nat Theo Club: https://thenaturaltheologyproject.com/clubFree Salmon Coloring Sheet: https://thenaturaltheologyproject.com/why-do-salmon-swim-upstream/Ask your nature question: https://thenaturaltheologyproject.com/askScriptures Referenced in This Episode:“So God created the large sea animals and every living thing that moves in the sea. The sea is filled with these living things, with each one producing more of its own kind. He also made every bird that flies, and each bird produced more of its own kind. God saw that this was good. God blessed them and said, ‘Have many young ones so that you may grow in number. Fill the water of the seas, and let the birds grow in number on the earth.’” Genesis 1:21-22 (NCV)“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NIV)“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The first heaven and the first earth had disappeared, and there was no sea anymore…. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, ‘Now God’s presence is with people, and he will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them and will be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death, sadness, crying, or pain, because all the old ways are gone.’The One who was sitting on the throne said, ‘Look! I am making everything new!...’” Revelation 21: 1,3-5a (NCV)“If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and if you believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, you will be saved. We believe with our hearts, and so we are made right with God. And we declare with our mouths that we believe, and so we are saved.” Romans 10:9-10 (NCV)Terms Learned in This Episode:Anadromous: An animal that is born in fresh water, lives most of its life in the ocean, and then returns to fresh water to have babies.Osmoregulation: The process of an animal’s body balancing water and salt so it stays healthy.Ionocytes: Special cells in a salmon’s gills that help control salt balance.Smoltification: The set of changes that helps a young salmon get ready to leave fresh water and live in salt water.Redd: A nest that a female salmon makes in the gravel at the bottom of a stream or river.Homing Instinct: A natural ability in some animals to return to an important place, like its home or nesting area, even after traveling far away.This podcast episode contains paid advertisements.

Why do kangaroos hop? Can they walk? Do all kangaroos have pouches, and what are they for? Discover God’s wild and wonderful design in kangaroos and how they’re designed to move forward—never backward.Here’s our trail map:Do All Kangaroos Have Pouches?Why Do Kangaroos Hop?Can Kangaroos Jump Backward?How Does God Help Us Move Forward in Faith?Eryn's Books:The Nature of Rest: What the Bible and Creation Teach Us About Sabbath Living: https://www.amazon.com/Nature-Rest-Creation-Sabbath-Living/dp/0825448891Rooted in Wonder: Nurturing Your Family's Faith Through God's Creation: https://www.amazon.com/Rooted-Wonder-Nurturing-Familys-Creation/dp/0825447615936 Pennies: Discovering the Joy of Intentional Parenting: https://www.amazon.com/936-Pennies-Discovering-Intentional-Parenting/dp/0764219782Episode Links:Explore books, curriculum, and resources by Master Books: https://www.masterbooks.com/Save 20% and get a FREE speaker using code Nat20 at https://www.sherwoodkids.com/nat20 (offer valid through March 31, 2026)Subscribe to the Ginger Hubbard podcast for biblical parenting advice and encouragement: https://www.gingerhubbard.com/podcastNat Theo Club Bonus Video: https://erynlynum.com/memberGet full lesson guides in the Nat Theo Club: https://erynlynum.com/clubFree Kangaroo Coloring Sheet: https://erynlynum.com/do-all-kangaroos-have-pouches/Ask your nature question: https://erynlynum.com/askScriptures Referenced in This Episode:“Brothers and sisters, I know that I have not yet reached that goal, but there is one thing I always do. Forgetting the past and straining toward what is ahead, I keep trying to reach the goal and get the prize for which God called me through Christ to the life above.” Philippians 3:13-14 (NCV)“Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.” Psalm 37:5 (ESV)“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” Isaiah 43:18-19 (NIV)“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord. ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.’” Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT) Terms Learned in This Episode:Marsupial: A group of mammals that have very tiny babies which are born early. Most have a pouch in which their baby or babies crawl into. Inside the pouch, the baby drinks milk and stays warm and safe as it continues growing.Marsupium: A pouch on a mother marsupial’s belly where her tiny baby or babies stay safe and warm after being born. Inside the pouch are nipples so the babies can drink milk and keep growing.Macropodidae: A family (category) of marsupials meaning “big feet,” including kangaroos, wallabies, wallaroos, tree-kangaroos, pademelons, quokkas, and other creatures known for large feet for hopping and tails for balancing.Saltation: Moving by jumps or hops instead of walking.Pentapedal Locomotion: Moving by using five feet. Or in the case of kangaroos, four feet and one tail.This podcast episode contains paid advertisements.

Dung beetles do more than roll poop—they roll it straight while walking backward in the dark. How? Meet the scientists who answered that question—using beetles, moonlight, and tiny cardboard hats.Here’s our trail map:Why Do Dung Beetles Roll Piles of Poop?Why Do Dung Beetles Collect Dung?How Is a Dung Beetle Like a Tiny Beetle Astronomer?How Can We Use God’s Word to Find Our Way?Eryn's Books:The Nature of Rest: What the Bible and Creation Teach Us About Sabbath Living: https://www.amazon.com/Nature-Rest-Creation-Sabbath-Living/dp/0825448891Rooted in Wonder: Nurturing Your Family's Faith Through God's Creation: https://www.amazon.com/Rooted-Wonder-Nurturing-Familys-Creation/dp/0825447615936 Pennies: Discovering the Joy of Intentional Parenting: https://www.amazon.com/936-Pennies-Discovering-Intentional-Parenting/dp/0764219782Episode Links:Explore books, curriculum, and resources by Master Books: https://www.masterbooks.com/Save 20% and get a FREE speaker using code Nat20 at https://www.sherwoodkids.com/nat20 (offer valid through March 31, 2026)Subscribe to the Ginger Hubbard podcast for biblical parenting advice and encouragement: https://www.gingerhubbard.com/podcastNat Theo Club Bonus Video: https://erynlynum.com/club-videosGet full lesson guides in the Nat Theo Club: https://erynlynum.com/clubFree Dung Beetle Coloring Sheet: https://erynlynum.com/why-do-dung-beetles-roll-piles-of-poop/Ask your nature question: https://erynlynum.com/askScriptures Referenced in This Episode:“But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.” John 16:13 (NIV)“Your word is like a lamp for my feet and a light for my path.” Psalm 119:105 (NCV) Terms Learned in This Episode:Sphere: A perfectly round solid shape with no corners and no edges. Every point on a sphere is the same distance from the center, so it looks the same from every side.Chemoreceptors: Sensor organs on a dung beetle’s antennae that allow it to sense animal scat from far away.Brood Ball: A dung ball that a mother dung beetle lays an egg in and buries. Then the egg hatches, the brood ball serves as first food for dung beetle larva.Detritivores: Creatures that eat dead or decaying things—and even animal waste—and mix it into the soil. Then tiny decomposers (like bacteria and fungi) finish breaking it down into nutrients.Dorsal Rim Area (DRA): The DRA is like a special compass area of their eye designed to see patterns in the night sky.Some but not all sources used in research:Supernavigators: Exploring the Wonders of How Animals Find Their Way (David Barrie)Atlas Obscura: Wild Life: An Explorer's Guide to the World's Living WondersThis podcast episode contains paid advertisements.

We know about massive dinosaurs, but how small were the smallest dinosaurs? Did dinosaurs swim and fly? Ken Ham, the founder of Answers in Genesis, joins us as we discover God’s wild and wonderful designs in dinosaurs.Episode Links:Dinosaurs for Kids: https://www.masterbooks.com/dinosaurs-for-kids-hardback-singleDinosaurs of Eden: https://www.masterbooks.com/dinosaurs-of-eden-revised-hardback-singleKen Ham’s Books: https://www.masterbooks.com/authors/ken-hamExplore Christ-centered books, curriculum, and resources by Master Books: https://www.masterbooks.com/Visit the Creation Museum: https://creationmuseum.org/Visit the Ark Encounter: https://arkencounter.com/Eryn's Books:The Nature of Rest: What the Bible and Creation Teach Us About Sabbath Living: https://www.amazon.com/Nature-Rest-Creation-Sabbath-Living/dp/0825448891Rooted in Wonder: Nurturing Your Family's Faith Through God's Creation: https://www.amazon.com/Rooted-Wonder-Nurturing-Familys-Creation/dp/0825447615936 Pennies: Discovering the Joy of Intentional Parenting: https://www.amazon.com/936-Pennies-Discovering-Intentional-Parenting/dp/0764219782This podcast episode contains paid advertisements.