STEM with Dr. Owl

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.

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.

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!

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 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!

Children will explore the engineering and robotics behind autonomous vehicles by learning how sensors, radar, and Lidar allow computers to see, think, decide, and act. Join Emma and Dr. Owl as they set up a cardboard obstacle course to test Ziggy's "mind-drive" car. Find out how self-driving cars avoid squishing Mr. Snuggles and why a robot might need to pull over during a snowstorm! Learning Connection: NGSS DCI: K-2-ETS1 – Engineering Design

Discover the science of air pressure, invisible gas particles, and uneven heating from the Sun in this educational Earth Science episode. Join Emma and Ziggy as they try to catch a sneaky "sky-ghost" with a butterfly net and learn exactly why warm air rising creates ocean breezes. Learning Connection: NGSS DCI: ESS2.D – Weather and Climate

Explore animal biology and zoology as we open Ziggy's latest mailbag to discover how bioluminescent creatures glow in the dark, why owls have incredible night vision, and the amazing way bees make honey. Join Emma, Dr. Owl, and Ziggy the Robot as they boot up the Mail-o-Matic Sorter to answer an all-animal mailbag filled with fun listener questions. From ladybug warning colors to the acrobatic mid-air landings of wildcats, this episode is a wild STEM adventure! Learning Connection: NGSS DCI: 4-LS1-1 – Plant and Animal Structures for Survival

Kids will learn the physics of light, how the human eye works, and what refraction means as they discover the science behind lenses. Join Emma, Dr. Owl, and Ziggy the Robot as they explore why putting on the wrong glasses makes everything blurry and how microscopes reveal hidden details. From bending light with water to using a microscope's lenses like a relay race, this episode brings the invisible world into clear focus. Learning Connection: NGSS DCI: 4-PS4-2 – Light and Vision

Kids learn what time is, how clocks measure repeating patterns, and why physics gives time a one-way direction. Join Dr. Owl, Emma, and Ziggy as they investigate sundials, melting ice, the arrow of time, and even Einstein’s surprising discovery about gravity and time. Learning Connection: NGSS DCI: ESS1.A – Patterns in the Sun and Sky