Spectacular Specimens Podcast By KUOW News and Information cover art

Spectacular Specimens

Spectacular Specimens

By: KUOW News and Information
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A podcast for curious kids (and adults) about a collection of spectacular specimens and the stories they can tell us about life on Earth.

Join Brandi and Paige as they open drawers, cabinets, and freezers full of specimens (a.k.a: dead animals used for research) at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture. In each episode, they’ll unlock exciting discoveries about one of our planet’s most remarkable creatures and learn how they can help us solve the mysteries of our living world.

Spectacular Specimens is a production of KUOW, part of the NPR Network, in collaboration with the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture.

Download the Spectacular Specimens Listen-Along Activity Book and complete a fun activity paired with each episode.

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to www.kuow.org/donate/spectacularspecimensnotes
Episodes
  • Pssst! We're going inside the Museum for 'Spectacular Specimens'

    Pssst! We're going inside the Museum for 'Spectacular Specimens'
    Mar 7 2025

    Inside every drawer, cabinet, and freezer at Seattle’s Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture lies a collection of spectacular specimens (...that’s right, dead animals used for research)!

    Join hosts Brandi Fullwood and Paige Browning to unlock extraordinary tales: an ancient dinosaur crime scene, a fiercely cute wrestling sea otter, and a colony of flesh-eating beetles that strip animal bones clean… all in the name of science!

    And that’s just the start–the first three episodes drop January 21, wherever you get your podcasts!

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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    1 min
  • Dermestid Beetles: The Flesh-Eating Cleanup Crew

    Dermestid Beetles: The Flesh-Eating Cleanup Crew
    Feb 24 2025

    ALERT: There’s a top secret crew cleaning up the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture. Meet nature’s tiniest janitors - dermestid beetles!

    These incredible insects have the grossest (but coolest) job ever: they eat away all the flesh from animal specimens, leaving behind pristine bones for scientists to study. We're going through a maze of the museum to get a behind the scenes to check out thousands of these beetles.

    Psssst! Get in on the fun:

    • Grab our free activity book: https://www.kuow.org/podcasts/Spectacular-Specimens

    • Text ‘spectacular’ to 206-926-9955 to join our Text Club

    • And you can share your Big Think, drawings, and thoughts with us at spectacular@kuow.org

    Spectacular Specimens is made possible by KUOW Public Radio in Seattle in collaboration with the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture. Support more episodes at https://www.kuow.org/donate/spectacularspecimens/

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
    Show more Show less
    21 mins
  • Sea Otters: Fierce Behind the Fluff

    Sea Otters: Fierce Behind the Fluff
    Feb 23 2025

    SWIMMING INTO THE RING! The cutest champion of the Pacific– THE SEA OTTER!!!

    Don’t let those cute faces fool you. Sea otters are incredible marine wrestlers packing some serious muscle under all that fluff. Join us ringside to find out how these floating champions use their super strong jaws and secret-weapon fur to protect ocean ecosystems and dominate kelp forest arenas!

    Psssst! Get in on the fun:

    • Grab our free activity book: https://www.kuow.org/podcasts/Spectacular-Specimens

    • Text ‘spectacular’ to 206-926-9955 to join our Text Club

    • And you can share your Big Think, drawings, and thoughts with us at spectacular@kuow.org

    Spectacular Specimens is made possible by KUOW Public Radio in Seattle in collaboration with the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture. Support more episodes at https://www.kuow.org/donate/spectacularspecimens/

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
    Show more Show less
    24 mins
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