Each year during the fall, we often see a lot of trees dropping their leaves. To find out exactly what happens when leaves fall, I talked to my friend Henry Adams, a researcher at Washington State University.
Adams is very curious about the lives of trees and how they can survive harsh conditions. He reminded me that all year long trees make their own chemicals that help control how they grow. » More …
When you walk around on land, you are walking on top of Earth’s rocky crust. Below the crust is another thick layer of rock. These layers form Earth’s tectonic plates and when those plates collide with each other, they often form mountains.
To find out about how mountains form, I visited my friend Julie Menard, a professor at Washington State University who is very curious about geology. » More …
Our planet is home to all kinds of different plants, and they help make a lot of the oxygen we breathe. To find out how plants make oxygen, I asked my friend Balasaheb Sonawane, a scientist at WSU who researches photosynthesis, or the ways plants use energy from the sun and make oxygen. He said that in a way, plants breathe, too. » More …
Snakes have an amazing sense of smell. They can use their tongues to pick up on all kinds of scents in the air.
Whenever we smell something in the air, we are actually sniffing tiny building blocks called molecules. These molecules are what make up the scents of everything around us—things like baked bread, fresh-cut grass, and warm cookies. » More …
When it rains, sometimes we can see oil on the street rise to the top of puddles and spread out into a rainbow of colors.
One of the main reasons we see color is because of light, said my friend Cigdem Capan, a physics instructor at WSU. » More …
There are more than 34,000 species of fish on our planet. It can be tricky to tell the age or sex of a fish, but biologists have come up with a few different ways to find out.
My friend Paul Wheeler, a fish biologist at WSU, told me all about it. » More …
Seasons can be quite different depending on where you live. But no matter where you live, the reason for the seasons has to do with the way the Earth rotates.
I talked to my friend Vivienne Baldassare, a WSU physics and astronomy professor to find out exactly why we have seasons. » More …
When we look around our world, we can find all kinds of shadows. One way we can explore the answer to your shadow question is with a little experiment.
My friend Anya Rasmussen, a WSU physics professor, told me all about it. » More …
While we can’t see black holes with our eyes, astronomers have figured out how to spot these objects in our universe.
One astronomer who is really curious about understanding black holes is my friend Sukanta Bose, a researcher at WSU. » More …
Ever since humans discovered they could use sand to make glass, they’ve been experimenting with it. They even learned how to control the colors.
My friend Dustin Regul is a stained glass artist and painter who teaches fine arts at Washington State University. He told me more about where glass gets its color. » More …