Ever wonder how drones can help scientists take care of wide open spaces? 🚁🌾 What do they look for from the sky—and how does that help wildlife on the ground? 🦌

This week on Orbit, we’re joined by Dr. Humberto Perotto from the Texas A&M Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management! He answers kids’ questions about how drones are used to monitor plant health, track animals, map changes across rangelands, and support conservation.

We also explore what “rangeland management” really means, why these ecosystems are so important, and what it’s like to work in a STEM career that combines technology, nature, and problem-solving.

This episode is part of the “Cool Jobs for Curious Kids” series, featuring STEM professionals responding to kids’ questions— a collaboration between LevelUp Texas and Cumbre Kids, powered by Texas A&M University.

➡️ Level-Up Texas: ⁠More Info⁠

➡️ Expert guest: Dr. Humberto Perotto

💬 Submit your kids' questions for episodes! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.cumbrekids.org/questions⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

💛 Support this podcast by joining The Curious Club: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LINK⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

🎧 More podcasts by Cumbre Kids: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Learn more⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

🎙️ This episode is available in Spanish on our sister podcast, ⁠⁠⁠Cráneo: Ciencia para niños curiosos⁠⁠⁠

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 A message for parents about our values: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LINK⁠

Ever wonder what cavities are or how they form? 🦷 Or maybe why we have baby teeth? Or if the tooth fairy travels to different countries?

This week we're joined by Prof. Ariana Vargas from the Texas A&M College of Dentistry! We explore the science of teeth, and amazing jobs like dental hygienists, dentists and dental assistants!

This episode is part of the "Cool Jobs for Curious Kids" series, in collaboration with LevelUp Texas, powered by Texas A&M University.

➡️ Level-Up Texas: More Info

➡️ Expert guest: Prof. Ariana Vargas

💬 Submit your kids' questions for episodes! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.cumbrekids.org/questions⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

💛 Support this podcast by joining The Curious Club: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LINK⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

🎧 More podcasts by Cumbre Kids: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Learn more⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

🎙️ This episode is available in Spanish on our sister podcast, ⁠⁠Cráneo: Ciencia para niños curiosos⁠⁠

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 A message for parents about our values: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LINK⁠

Orbiters! Today we’re exploring atoms - the tiny building blocks of the universe! We’ll discover what atoms are, what they’re made of, where they’re found, how scientists discovered them, and more (including how many atoms are in a blue whale!).

We’re joined by PhD scientist and chemical engineer Dr. Fernanda Sulantay-Vargas from Yale University! Dr. Fernanda is also a science communicator, active with the Society for Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE), and the founder of InspiraSTEM, an organization that inspires and supports students from El Salvador in STEM.

➡️ The Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE): Website

➡️ InspiraSTEM: Website

➡️ Follow Dr. Fernanda: Instagram, Tiktok

💬 Submit your kids' questions for episodes! ⁠⁠⁠⁠www.cumbrekids.org/questions⁠⁠⁠⁠

💛 Support this podcast by joining The Curious Club: ⁠⁠⁠⁠LINK⁠⁠⁠⁠

🎧 More podcasts by Cumbre Kids: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Learn more⁠⁠⁠⁠

🎙️ This episode is available in Spanish on our sister podcast, ⁠Cráneo: Ciencia para niños curiosos⁠.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 A message for parents about our values: ⁠⁠⁠⁠LINK⁠

Did you know that studying rocks today can teach us about the Earth millions of years ago!? We're joined by an incredible geoscientist - Dr. Lina Perez-Angel, from Brown University - to explore the incredible world of Sedimentary Rocks, including what they're made of, how they form, and how scientists study them!

💬 Submit your kids' questions! ⁠⁠⁠www.cumbrekids.org/questions⁠⁠⁠

💛 Support this podcast by joining The Curious Club: ⁠⁠⁠LINK⁠⁠⁠

🎧 More podcasts by Cumbre Kids: ⁠⁠⁠Learn more⁠⁠⁠

🎙️ This episode is available in Spanish on our sister podcast, Cráneo: Ciencia para niños curiosos.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 A message for parents about our values: ⁠⁠⁠LINK⁠

This episode was supported in part by the National Science Foundation Grant 2402100 from the Division of Earth Science.

Ever wonder what happens in your brain while we sleep? Or why we need o sleep at all? In this episode, Dr. Daniel Davila-Williams - a pediatric neurologist from Texas Children's Hospital - joins Orbit to discuss the science of sleep, including:

• What happens in our brain and body when we sleep
• Dreams
• Why sleep is critical for healthy growing children!
• How scientists study sleep and technology they use
• How to improve our sleep

🌐 Website for Dr. Davila-Williams: LINK

💬 Complete this short form to submit questions for episodes! ⁠⁠www.cumbrekids.org/questions⁠⁠

💛 Support this podcast by joining The Curious Club: ⁠⁠LINK⁠⁠

🎧 More podcasts by Cumbre Kids: ⁠⁠LINK⁠⁠

🎙️ This episode is also available in Spanish on our sister podcast, Cráneo: Ciencia para niños curiosos.

A message for parents about our values here: ⁠⁠LINK

Explore the incredible, fascinating world of mammal teeth with Rob, Milam, and Dr. Silvia! This episode includes key concepts, like:

• What is a mammal
• What are teeth
• History of teeth
• Biomechanics of teeth

Our expert guest is Dr. Silvia Pineda-Munoz, paleontologist and author of the science blog, Climate Ages (link).

• 🎙️ This episode is also available in Spanish on our sister podcast, Cráneo: Ciencia para niños curiosos.
• 💬 Submit questions for episodes! Just fill out this short form: ⁠LINK⁠
• 💛 Support this podcast by joining The Curious Club: ⁠LINK⁠
• 🎧 More podcasts by Cumbre Kids: ⁠LINK⁠

A message for parents about our values here: ⁠LINK

🌱 Plants are all around us! They are green science in action! We're joined in this episode by Charlie from the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Miami, Florida, USA! 🌴🌿

Listen with your little ones and learn all about the parts of plants, photosynthesis, life, and much more!

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🎙️ This episode is also available in Spanish on our sister podcast, Cráneo: Ciencia para niños curiosos.

💬 Submit questions for episodes! Just fill out this short form: LINK

💛 Support this podcast by joining The Curious Club: LINK

🎧 More podcasts by Cumbre Kids: LINK

A message for parents from our executive producer about our values here: LINK

The Giant Pacific Octopus is a true legend of the oceans: Able to open jars, solve puzzles, spray ink, change colors and so much more! 🐙🤯

In this episode, we're joined by marine biologist René Carbajal from the Monterey Bay Aquarium 🐟🌊, who shares incredible facts and stories about these mysterious (and super cool!) creatures.

🐟 Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch - to choose environmentally sustainable seafood for your family! Info

• ❓ Submit questions for upcoming episodes: ⁠Info⁠
• 💖 Support this podcast by joining the Curious Club: ⁠Link⁠

🎙️ Orbit's sibling podcasts in Spanish:

• 🧬 Cráneo: Ciencia para niños curiosos - ⁠Links⁠

• 🦎 Camaleón: Animales par aniños curiosos - ⁠Links⁠

Orbit is produced by Cumbre Kids: ⁠Website

Contact our team: kids@cumbremedia.com

A message for parents about our values, from our executive producer : ⁠LINK⁠