Ask Dr. Universe

Send us Fan Mail Welcome back, young scientists. I’m Dr. Universe.  If you’re anything like me, you’ve got lots of big questions about our world. Today I'm talking to WSU environmental archeologist John Blong . Hear what environmental archeology is Learn about fossilized poop—AKA coprolites —and what they reveal to scientists Find out when the first people came to North America Resources You...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome back, young scientists. I’m Dr. Universe. If you’re anything like me, you’ve got lots of big questions about our world. Today, the 4th graders at Palouse Prairie Charter School take Dr. Universe and her cougar cub friend Cosmo back in time to the formation of the universe. Join our intrepid science team as they explore the Big Bang Hear about how the sun works Learn about...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome back, young scientists. I’m Dr. Universe. If you’re anything like me, you’ve got lots of big questions about our world. Today, the 4th graders at Palouse Prairie Charter School take Dr. Universe and her cougar cub friend Cosmo on an earth science adventure. Join our intrepid science team as they dig for fossils Hear about the supercontinent Pangea Learn about volcanoes and...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome back, young scientists. I’m Dr. Universe.  If you’re anything like me, you’ve got lots of big questions about our world. Today I'm talking to WSU astronomer Michael Allen. Learn what an astronomer does and what their day looks like Hear how people who do astronomy as a hobby contribute to the field Find out what Dr. Allen thinks about aliens Resources You Can Use Chec...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome back, young scientists. I’m Dr. Universe.  If you’re anything like me, you’ve got lots of big questions about our world. Today I'm talking to WSU veterinarian Jessica Bunch. Learn what a veterinarian does and funny things that happen Hear about how Dr. Bunch gives acupuncture to all kinds of animals  Resources You Can Use Check out ag careers with Future Farmers of Am...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome back, young scientists. I’m Dr. Universe.  If you’re anything like me, you’ve got lots of big questions about our world. Today we're talking to nurse practitioner Bevan Briggs. Warning! This episode very briefly mentions intestines, body fluids, shots, stitches, broken bones, surgery, kids putting on pretend wounds (with intestines!) to help EMTs train, and the fact a...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome back, young scientists. I’m Dr. Universe.  If you’re anything like me, you’ve got lots of big questions about our world.   Today we're talking about birds with Wes Dowd , a marine biologist and environmental physiologist at Washington State University.  Learn about tiny crustaceans called copepods , which are a type of plankton — and rock out to this song about zoopla...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome back, young scientists. I’m Dr. Universe.  If you’re anything like me, you’ve got lots of big questions about our world.   Today we're talking about birds with Jennifer Phillips , an ecologist at Washington State University.  Learn about sensory pollution and the difference between a phenotype and a genotype Find out how birds get tagged and measured—and how it's...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome back, young scientists. I’m Dr. Universe.  If you’re anything like me, you’ve got lots of big questions about our world.   Today we're talking about libraries with David Luftig , a science librarian at Washington State University.  Find out what a science librarian is and how to become one Learn how the resources at WSU's Owen Science and Engineering Library and...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome back, young scientists. I’m Dr. Universe.  If you’re anything like me, you’ve got lots of big questions about our world.   Today we're talking about learning with Kira Carbonneau , an educational psychologist at Washington State University.  Find out what educational psychologist is and how Dr. Carbonneau became one Learn the difference between quantitative research a...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome back, young scientists. I’m Dr. Universe.  If you’re anything like me, you’ve got lots of big questions about our world.   Today we're talking about babies with Masha Gartstein , a psychologist who studies infant temperament at Washington State University.  Learn about the individual differences that make up a baby's temperament and how scientists study it in the...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome back, young scientists. I’m Dr. Universe.  If you’re anything like me, you’ve got lots of big questions about our world.   Do you love insects? Me, too. In this episode, we meet Rich Zack , an insect scientist at Washington State University.  Learn about entomology, the study of insects and arthropods like spiders and scorpions, and how to study insects right now. Hear how...

Send us Fan Mail Hey, friends. I’m Dr. Universe. If you’re anything like me, you’ve got lots of big questions about our world.      In this episode, we meet Adah Crandall. She’s an organizer with the Sunrise Movement . That's a youth-led organization working on solutions for climate change. She started organizing as a middle schooler when she took on the Oregon Department of Transportation. ...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome back, friends. I’m Dr. Universe. If you’re anything like me, you’ve got lots of big questions about our world.      In this episode, we meet Emily Erickson. She’s part of the Western Monarch Mystery Challenge team. That’s a community science project that asks people to look for monarch butterflies in early spring and send in pictures to help scientists learn more about the...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome back, young scientists. I’m Dr. Universe.  If you’re anything like me, you’ve got lots of big questions about our world.    It's not enough to just do science—you've got to get the science out so people can read all about it. That's where science writers come in.   In this episode, we meet Sara Zaske, a science writer at Washington State University. She also...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome back, young scientists. I’m Dr. Universe.  If you’re anything like me, you’ve got lots of big questions about our world.    What's a postdoctoral fellow? How do rattlesnakes rattle? What's it like searching for snakes in the field or taking blood samples from a grizzly bear?   In this episode, we meet Blair Perry, a postdoctoral fellow at Washington State Univers...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome back, young scientists. I’m Dr. Universe.  If you’re anything like me, you’ve got lots of big questions about our world.    Do you love our solar system? Today, 4th graders from Palouse Prairie Charter School take me on a space tour in their Boomcrusher space shuttle. Come along! Ask Dr. Universe is a service of Washington State University geared toward an 8- to 13-year-ol...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome back, young scientists. I’m Dr. Universe.  If you’re anything like me, you’ve got lots of big questions about our world.     How do you become a scientist? What does a scientist's day look like? Is being a scientist fun?    In this episode, we meet Nora Hickey, a fish veterinarian at Washington State University. We learn about fish medicine and why it’s important to f...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome back, young scientists. I’m Dr. Universe.  If you’re anything like me, you’ve got lots of big questions about our world.   What was early Earth like? How did life start on Earth? And what’s up with plate tectonics? In part two of this two-part episode, we meet geologist Johannes Haemmerli of Washington State University. We learn about early Earth, some brand-new research o...

Send us Fan Mail What was early Earth like? How did life start on Earth? And what’s up with plate tectonics? In part one of this two-part episode, we meet NASA scientist and Blue Marble Space Institute of Science founder Dr. Sanjoy Som. We learn about early Earth, stromatolites and how we can care for the planet that gave us life. As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.edu .  Ask...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome back, young scientists. I’m Dr. Universe.  If you’re anything like me, you’ve got lots of big questions about our world. How do you become a scientist? What does a scientist's day look like? Is being a scientist fun? In this episode, we meet Kalli Stephens, a student scientist at Washington State University. We learn about what she does in the lab and how to find your...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome back, young scientists. I’m Dr. Universe.  If you’re anything like me, you’ve got lots of big questions about our world. How do you become a scientist? What does a scientist's day look like? Is being a scientist fun? In this episode, we meet Dr. Marcos Frank , a brain scientist at Washington State University. We learn about his path to becoming a scientist and how sci...

Send us Fan Mail I'm Dr. Universe, and if you're anything like me, you've got big questions about our world. I get lots of questions from kids wondering about aliens. In this episode, we meet Afshin Khan, an astrobiologist who studied signs of life when she was a Ph. D. student at Washington State University. She shares her adventures to uncover the teeny, tiny life that forms framb...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Universe and a group of junior scientists from Palouse Prairie Charter School learn about underwater volcanoes and crystals. Students from the fourth-grade class in Moscow, Idaho help Dr. Universe answer earth science questions. Another big thank you to Northwest Public Broadcasting for help with recording! You can find sources for information about underwater volcanoes and cr...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Universe is back with a group of junior scientists from Palouse Prairie Charter School to learn about space. Students from the fourth-grade class in Moscow, Idaho help Dr. Universe answer how we know there are planets outside our solar system and what the universe actually is. If you like thinking about multiverses, black holes and the potential for life outside Earth, this is...