How does water turn into ice? Why is ice sometimes slippery and other times sticky? Why is it so cold? Why does it float? How are icicles made? Why are icebergs mostly underwater? What was the ice age? We'll get answers to all of those questions with help from Celeste Labedz of the California Institute of Technology. And we'll take a trip to the world's largest skating rink, the Rideau Canal in Ottawa, Ontario. Download our learning guides: PDF | Google Slide | Transcript

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is an American tradition. It’s been going since 1924. This year marks the 99th parade (it took three years off during World War II). It’s famous for elaborate floats and huge character balloons that bob above the streets as the parade marches ... Show More

What’s your favorite color? Where do colors come from?Why do people see colors? Does everyone see colors the same way? How many colors are there in the world? We learn about colors with Kassia St. Clair, the author of a book called The Secret Lives of Color. We talk a ... Show More

Who invented candy? Why is it so sweet? Why does hard candy melt in your mouth? How are candy corn, gummies and nerds made? What makes pop rocks pop? We talk with traditional candy makers at <a href="https://stickyusa.com/">Sticky</a> in California and <a href ... Show More

Occasionally when we hold an ice cube or a piece of frozen metal, our fingers can literally stick to it. This physical phenomenon has an easily understandable basis. The heat from our fingers melts the ice on the surface of the ice cube. At this point, the ice turns into water an ... Show More

How is dry ice made? Why does metal make a 'screaming sound' when dry ice is touched to it? Is it possible to make fizzy fruit with it? Why should we never put dry ice into a swimming pool? ... We explain like i'm five! Thank you to the r/explainlikeimfive community as always ... Show More

If you’ve ever banged your knee pretty badly, you might have noticed the knee swells up to larger than its normal size. To ease your pain and make the swelling go down, maybe someone handed you an ice pack. But why is it ice that does the trick to reduce swelling, and does anythi ... Show More

Learn about the Ice Age, what happens during an ice age and how long it lasts in this very short introduction from Do You Know Podcast, a podcast from English Plus Podcast Network. Find the interactive transcript and the PDF practice worksheet on https://englishpluspodcast.com/do ... Show More

There's always a moment of intense isolation when Jessica Mejía gets dropped off on the Greenland ice sheet for a multi-week research stint. "You know you're very much alone," said Jessica, a postdoctoral researcher in glaciology at the University of Buffalo. Glaciers such as tho ... Show More

Glaciers like the ones in Greenland are melting due to climate change, causing global sea levels to rise. That we know. But these glaciers are also moving. What we don't know is just how these two processes – melting and movement – interact and ultimately impact how quickly sea l ... Show More

In this episode, Dr. Ken Libbrecht answers all of our snowflake questions: How are snowflakes made? Why are they different shapes? How is it that they’re all unique? And how does a scientist who lives in southern California study snow?See <a href="https://omnystudio.com ... Show More

From ice cubes to ice cream, cold things are a crucial part of cuisine. How do we use chill to our advantage? This is part two of our series on the science of cooking, a collaboration with the brilliant foodies at America's Test Kitchen Kids. This episode is (literally) super ... Show More

Ice roads are more than just a clever way to truck supplies to isolated areas in the cold winter months. In fact, ice roads have played a meaningful role in history. Join Scott and Ben as they test the ice on this unusual method of transport. Learn more about your ad-choices at h ... Show More

For most of Homo sapiens' time out of Africa, we lived in a world defined by ice. But by around 20,000 years ago, the ice had begun to melt, the glaciers retreating back toward the poles and mountain ranges. This left behind a new world, a whole different series of en ... Show More

Ice, Ice, Baby: Why Is Ice Slippery?