Science's Not Boring
A groundbreaking podcast for curious kids aged 4-12 that proves science is anything but dull.
Join our fictional AI hosts Mira, a brilliant 9-year-old, and her younger brother Finn, age 7, as they explore the incredible world of science. From exploding volcanoes and black holes to deadly venom and the tiny machines inside your own body, each episode uncovers the most astonishing, surprising, and sometimes mind-bending wonders of science - explained in a way that actually makes sense to kids.
Whether you're discovering how rockets blast into space, why dinosaurs ruled the Earth, what really happens inside a thunderstorm, how your brain pulls off impossible tricks, or why the ocean's deepest creatures glow in the dark - Science Is Not Boring transforms big scientific ideas into unforgettable stories that ignite curiosity and wonder.
Because science isn't a pile of facts to memorize. It's the story of how everything works - and how we figure it out.
A note on why we use AI. For us, AI allows us to deliver learning at a scale and quality that previously would have been too expensive. If we make the odd technical error, or the sound goes a bit funny, bear with us, we're trying our best. We hope you enjoy the show!
Science's Not Boring
What is the periodic table?
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Welcome to Science Is Not Boring by Kidopoly.com. I'm Mira! And I'm Finn! Before we dive in, we have a very special shout-out to Centre Owen in Montreal.
SPEAKER_01Hey Owen, we hear you love our sister show, History's Not Boring. And you specifically asked for an episode all about the periodic table.
SPEAKER_00That's right! This entire episode is dedicated to you, Owen. It is a fantastic suggestion.
SPEAKER_01So, where do we even start with the periodic table? It always looks like a giant chart of random letters and numbers.
SPEAKER_00Well, let's picture this. Imagine you were standing on the beach in the summer. You were looking out at the majestic, powerful ocean.
SPEAKER_01Oh yeah, I love watching the towering waves roll in. When they crash on the sand, it's just this incredible display of natural energy.
SPEAKER_00Exactly! We treat those big waves with total wonder and respect. But what if I told you that the entire ocean, the giant storm clouds above it, the sand beneath your feet, and even your own body are all built from the exact same invisible Lego blocks?
SPEAKER_01Hahaha, wait, Lego blocks? Did a giant cargo ship spill toys into the ocean?
SPEAKER_00No, not plastic blocks. I mean chemical elements. Every single thing in the universe is made from a specific set of basic building blocks.
SPEAKER_01You mean everything? My shoes? A banana? A volcano?
SPEAKER_00Everything. And scientists created one brilliant, map-like chart to organise all of them. It's called the periodic table of elements.
SPEAKER_01Whoa! So how many of these invisible building blocks are there? Millions?
SPEAKER_00Actually, there are only 118 known elements in the whole universe. We are going to explore the wildest ones today, from explosive metals to liquid silver. To understand how amazing this is, we have to talk about what an element actually is. It is a pure substance that cannot be broken down into anything simpler. So if I take a piece of pure gold and chop it in half with a laser. Both halves are still gold. If you keep slicing it until you get down to a single microscopic atom, it is still undeniably gold. You can't break it down further without it stopping being gold entirely.
SPEAKER_01And you said there are only 118 of these? That doesn't seem like enough to make a whole entire universe.
SPEAKER_00It really is. Of those 118 elements, only 94 occur naturally on Earth. The rest were created by scientists in laboratories using giant machines.
SPEAKER_01So how did we figure out how to organise these 94 natural building blocks?
SPEAKER_00Enter a brilliant Russian chemist named Dmitry Mendeleev in the year 1869. He was trying to write a chemistry textbook and needed a way to group the 63 elements they knew about at the time.
SPEAKER_011869? They definitely didn't have computers back then. Did he just write them in a giant notebook?
SPEAKER_00Better. Mendeleev absolutely loved playing a card game called Solitaire. So, he cut up pieces of paper into blank cards.
SPEAKER_01Oh, I love Solitaire!
SPEAKER_00Did he put the King of Hearts on the Queen of Spades? Sort of. On each card, he wrote the name of an element and its atomic weight. Then, he stayed awake for three straight days and nights, moving the cards around on his desk, trying to find the perfect pattern.
SPEAKER_01Three days without sleep. He must have been so exhausted.
SPEAKER_00He was! Legend says he finally fell asleep at his desk, and the perfect arrangement came to him in a dream. When he woke up, he knew exactly how to organise them by their traits. Mendeleev realised that elements with similar personalities belonged in the same columns. Let's look back at our ocean scene to see how these personalities combine.
SPEAKER_01Okay, ocean water. I know this one. It is H2O, hydrogen and oxygen.
SPEAKER_00Bingo! Hydrogen is element number one. It is the lightest gas in the universe, and it is highly flammable and explosive.
SPEAKER_01Wait, explosive? And it's in the majestic ocean waves I swim in.
SPEAKER_00Yes! And oxygen is the gas we breathe, which fires need in order to burn. But when these two link up, they lock together completely and make water, which actually puts out fires.
SPEAKER_01That is wild. Two things that love fire combine to make the best fire extinguisher ever. What about the salt in the sea?
SPEAKER_00Sea salt, or regular table salt, is a combination of two elements. Sodium, which is element 11, and chlorine, element 17.
SPEAKER_01Let me guess. They are totally safe and boring.
SPEAKER_00Not at all! Sodium is a shiny, silvery metal that is so soft you can cut it with a butter knife. And it is so highly reactive, if you drop a chunk of pure sodium into water, it violently explodes.
SPEAKER_01You're telling me there is exploding metal hiding in my French fry salt.
SPEAKER_00Yep. And chlorine is a toxic, pale yellow-green gas. It is super dangerous to breathe on its own.
SPEAKER_01Ew, so I'm eating exploding metal and poisonous gas on my popcorn.
SPEAKER_00That is the magic of chemistry! When that explosive metal and toxic gas combine, their atoms bond perfectly. They completely change their personalities and become absolutely safe, delicious, edible salt. Because elements have such specific personalities, Mendeleev's card table had a secret superpower.
SPEAKER_01What superpower? Could his deck of cards see the future?
SPEAKER_00Actually, yes. As Mendeleev lined up his cards, sometimes a card just wouldn't fit the pattern of the column it was in.
SPEAKER_01So what did he do? Did he squish it in any way to make it look nice?
SPEAKER_00No, he did something brilliant! He left a blank space. He told the science world, there is a missing element here that we haven't discovered yet.
SPEAKER_01He just left holes in his chart. That takes serious confidence.
SPEAKER_00He even predicted exactly what those missing elements would look like and how heavy they would be. Six years later, in 1875, a French scientist discovered a new element that perfectly fit the blank spot under aluminum.
SPEAKER_01No way! Did he name it the I told you so element?
SPEAKER_00They named it gallium, element 31, and gallium is one of the weirdest metals on Earth. Weird how? Does it explode like sodium? Nope, but its melting point is exactly 85.6 degrees Fahrenheit, which is 29.8 degrees Celsius.
SPEAKER_01Wait. Normal human body temperature is around 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit. So Exactly!
SPEAKER_00If you place a solid, hard block of shiny gallium metal in the palm of your hand, your body heat alone will make it literally melt into a silvery liquid puddle.
SPEAKER_01Ew, but also whoa! It's like liquid terminator juice.
SPEAKER_00And there are even rarer elements. Take Francium, element 87. It is so incredibly rare and unstable. Scientists estimate there is only about 20 to 30 grams of it in the entire Earth's crust at any single moment.
SPEAKER_0130 grams? That is just a spoonful of it hiding on the entire planet.
SPEAKER_00Now, let's talk about the incredible elements hidden in the ocean and inside you.
SPEAKER_01Wait, am I hiding secret metals in my body? Do I have superpowers?
SPEAKER_00You actually are! And as for the ocean, the National Ocean Service estimates there are about 20 million tonnes of pure gold naturally dissolved in the world's seawater.
SPEAKER_0120 million tonnes? Grab a bucket, Mira. We are going to the beach right now to become billionaires.
SPEAKER_00Hold your seahorses! That gold is so diluted, you would have to filter nearly 70,000 tonnes of seawater just to find a single tiny gram of gold.
SPEAKER_01Okay, fine. I'll put my bucket away. But what about my body?
SPEAKER_00Almost 99% of the human body is made up of just six elements: oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium, and phosphorus. Carbon? Isn't that what is inside a pencil? It is! In fact, you have enough carbon in your body right now to make the lead for about 9,000 pencils.
SPEAKER_01That is wild! Next time I forget my pencil at school, I'll tell the teacher I am the pencil.
SPEAKER_00You also have enough iron in your blood to make a small, shiny metal nail. And you have enough phosphorus in your bones to make the heads of 2,000 matches.
SPEAKER_01Whoa, so I am a walking matchbox, pencil case, and hardware store all rolled into one.
SPEAKER_00Exactly! The periodic table isn't just some boring chart in a science classroom. It is the ultimate recipe book for the entire universe. Every single star, planet, and person is made of these exact same ingredients. Alright, Finn, it is time for the quiz. Are you ready?
SPEAKER_01Oh boy, I am ready. Let's see if I can remember all these wild ingredients.
SPEAKER_00First question. How many total known elements are there in the universe? Next one. What was the name of the Russian chemist who created the periodic table in 1869? Question 3. What shiny metal literally melts into a puddle if you hold it in the palm of your hand? Here's number four. What two dangerous elements, an explosive metal and a toxic gas, combine to make regular table salt? Last question. Roughly how many pencils could you make with the carbon found in a single human body? Great job! Let's see how you did. The first answer is, there are 118 known elements in the universe. For question two, the Russian chemist was Dmitry Mendeleev. The third answer is, gallium is the metal that melts in your hand. For question four, sodium and chlorine combine to make table salt. And the final answer is, you could make about 9,000 pencils with the carbon in your body.
SPEAKER_01I got almost all of those. But honestly, I am never going to look at a glass of water or the ocean or even my French fries the same way again.
SPEAKER_00I know! It completely changes how you see the world when you realise everything is just a giant chemistry set snapping together.
SPEAKER_01Hey listeners, if you loved learning about explosive metals and liquid silver, please leave us a five-star review.
SPEAKER_00Yes! Just scroll down on your podcast app and tap those five stars. And in your review, tell us what your absolute favourite element is.
SPEAKER_01Oh, and don't forget to check out our site, kidopoly.com. We have tons of fun learning games, activities, and awesome science stuff to explore there.
SPEAKER_00And if you want a shout out on the show, like Owen got today, or just want to tell us your favourite science facts, send us an email at hello at kidopoly.com.
SPEAKER_01We love hearing from you guys. Learning about everything in the universe was so much fun.
SPEAKER_00It really was. See you next time on Science Is Not Boring. Bye, everyone!