Everything Under The Sun

In this week's show we answer four questions from Etienne, Douglas, Camille and Isabel, with help from special guest experts Roberto and James, from the Natural History Museum. Happy New Year! Welcome to this week’s episode of Everything Under the Sun, a weekly podcast answering all the most pressing questions children around the world have about life on earth. This week we're headed into the Natural History Museum in London. We’re going to explore their exhibition called Life in The Dark.The show is all about animals that like to go out and about in the dark or in dark places on earth. Some are nocturnal - so come out at night – like owls, foxes, frogs and badgers – others live in caves – like bats – and others in deep dark parts of the ocean.Turn your torches on and come with me as we venture into Life In The Dark! This week we have four questions from Etienne, Douglas, Camille and Isabel - they would like to know: What is the biggest species of owl ever known to mankind? Why do owls turn their heads all the way around? Are bats actually blind? And are any fish nocturnal. Along the way we will bump into scientists who work at the museum who will answer the questions you’ve sent into the show using their expert knowledge! We have Roberto, the curator of mammals at the museum and James, the curator of fish who first appeared in the podcast's first episode, talking about hammerhead sharks! Tune in to find out who won tickets to go ice skating at the Natural History Museum, hear owl impressions from Arlo, Martha and Heidi and how to win tickets to see Life in the Dark at the museum. It is a brilliant show for all the family, children go free and you can win TWO adult tickets so all the family can go along together - it's well worth the trip. Sound effects from the show are used in this very podcast, enjoy! Social media: Instagram: @everythingunderthesunpod Twitter: @everythinguts Facebook: @everythingunderthesunbyMollyOldfield Website: www.everythingunderthesun.co.uk You can find info about how to send in a question on the website. Thank you! Artwork by Billy Colours, Music by Ash Gardner and Audio Networks, Edited Tyler Simmons Dale  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week we have three questions from Teddy, Eleanor and Molly, with help from special guest expert Simon Loader from the Natural History Museum. They would like to know why holly is spiky, why we sing Auld Lang Syne on New Year's Eve and what it means as well as why some animals have four legs and some have two legs? Discover why we sing Auld Lang Syne on New Year's Eve, where the song came from, what it means, how Scotland's national poet, Robert Burns made it famous and why we sing it on New Years Eve. Find out about the piece of paper covered in Burns' handwriting kept in a briefcase in a secret location in the Mitchell Library in Scotland - this paper that started the worldwide tradition of singing the song each year is a precious treasure that is included in our host, Molly Oldfield's book, The Secret Museum. To answer the legs question we have Simon Loader, the curator in charge of vertebrates - creatures with a backbone - at the Natural History Museum in London. Plus, if you want to use your legs for something fun this Christmas, tune in to find out how you can win tickets for all of your family to go ice-skating at the Natural History Museum in London this holiday. Enjoy the show! For more information about the show and how to send in a question please check out the website www.everythingunderthesun.co.uk This week's episode was edited by Tyler Simmons Dale, theme music by Ash Gardner, logo by Billy Colours and music by Audio Networks. Thank you! Happy 2019.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this week's special Christmas show we answer five questions from Tommi, Rosie, Gigi, Lottie and Wren, with help from special guest expert Neil Gaiman. The first is from Bea, she'd like to know if Mrs Christmas helps Father Christmas to work out who has been naughty and who has been nice? To answer her question we have the brilliant writer Neil Gaiman, author of Coraline, Stardust, Fortunately The Milk, picture books about Chu the sneezing panda and piles of other books, he's the one who knows what goes in in the Christmas home and how it wouldn't be Christmas without Mrs Christmas. Our next questions are from Tommi, Rosie, Gigi, Lottie and Wren - they would like to know whether an astronaut has ever seen Father Christmas, how reindeers see in the dark, and why we have Christmas trees?! Tune in to find out the first song ever sung in space, hear how astronauts on their way down to earth saw a man in a red suit flying through space being pulled by reindeers and how reindeers see in the dark. We also have lots of lovely jokes sent into the show by children and a winner of tickets to ZSL London Zoo over the Christmas holidays. We hope you love the show! And don't forget to thanks Mrs Christmas on Christmas morning if your stocking is full of presents. This week's episode was made possible by Neil Gaiman, ZSL London Zoo, amazing children with great questions and jokes, Tyler Simmons Dale the editor, Ash Gardner from House of Strange who wrote the amazing theme song and Billy Colours who designed the logo and Rob Meyer the astronaut. Merry Christmas! If you would like to send a question into the show have a look at the website www.everythingunderthesun.co.uk or just record yourself asking it on a grown ups phone and send it in to me at molly@everythingunderthesun.co.uk To see the jingle bells that were played in space the Smithsonian museum in Washington DC and the web link here: https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/tom-stafford’s-jingle-bells-and-wally-schirra’s-harmonica  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week we answer questions from Oscar, Harry and Caleb. They would like to know why penguins can't fly, why snakes shed their skin and how big can a giant crab get to? We find out why chubby penguin Dads are popular, how penguins that build nests for their eggs poo without making the nests messy, why snakes shed their skin and all about different giant crabs, where they live and what they get up to. Our special guest expert this week is Suzi, a keeper at ZSL London Zoo who knows all about penguins. Tune in to find out all the answers and more as well as how you can win a family ticket to London Zoo during the Christmas holidays.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this week's show we answer three questions, from Millie, Diah and Tommi. They would like to know why flamingos stand on one leg, why waves break on the beach and why bears hibernate when they've got such long fur to keep them warm? We find out about flamingo legs, how they sleep standing up, why they're pink and why they sometimes lose their pink colour when they have new baby chicks! We answer Diah's question which she sent in from her home on the island of Bali, in Indonesia and hear her language, Bahasa Indonesian. Finally we find out why bears hibernate and how they do it - including the way they plug up their bottoms for a winter snooze with a special plug they make themselves called a 'tappen'. Everything Under the Sun is edited by Tyler Simmons Dale, with theme music by Ash Gardner at House of Strange and logo artwork by Billy Colours. If you, your child or a child you know/teach/love have a question you would like answered on the show do record the question using a voice recording app on a phone (not whats app recorder tho) and send it into the show to molly@everythingunderthesun.co.uk. There's lots of info about how to do it on the show's website www.everythingunderthesun.co.uk. Many thanks.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this week's show we answer three questions, from Wren, Abi and Tomos. They would like to know why rainbows are so colourful, why some people talk in their sleep and why some people spit when they're talking? We discuss where the rainbow's colours come from and we talk about Iris, the goddess of the rainbow, and why the colours of our eyes are named after her. We discover the parts of a sleep cycle when you're most likely to sleep talk and finally what causes spitting, how to stop it from happening, as well as the amount of saliva our bodies make each day - it's a lot more than you might think!  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this week's show we answer three questions, from Bea, Finn and Tommi. They would like to know whether blue whales can talk to killer whales, why killer whales have white patches by their eyes and why hammerhead sharks have heads shaped like hammers? We find out the different ways whales and dolphins communicate underwater, what the white patches are for and our special guest expert James Mclaine from the Natural History Museum in London answers the question about hammerhead sharks. He's one of the top experts about sharks in the world because he's in charge of all the millions of fish in the collection of the Natural History Museum in London and recently appeared on Blue Peter talking about weird and wonderful fish!  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Children are full of curiosity and questions about the world. Each Friday, join Molly Oldfield, the very first question writer or QI elf on the BBC TV show QI and author of three books as she answers questions - often with the help of experts - sent into the show by children around the world. If you or a child you know has a question you would like answered, or just want to learn interesting facts about life on earth, this is the podcast for you.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.