Nature Nonfiction

When a young boy visits his friend, Mary, he finds out it’s honey harvest day! Even though Mary’s family lives in the big city of Chicago, they have honeybees in their backyard. Follow along to learn about beekeeping and lots of cool stuff about the honeybee!

Mama Kiwi has finally laid her eggs! Now it's time for Papa Kiwi to take care of them until they hatch. Learn what Papa Kiwi must do in order to protect his babies. See how he hunts for food and protects the eggs all by himself until it's time for the eggs to hatch!

Two ants have lost their queen’s pink sprinkle! Now they must go on an adventure to find their queen’s sugary snack. They need to ask all the other creatures that live around them if they have seen it! Will they ever be able to find the sprinkle?

Have you ever wondered how insects defend themselves from predators? Some, like the stick insect and katydid, use amazing disguises to help blend into their surroundings! Others, like wasps, hornets, and some caterpillars, use a painful venom to discourage attackers. If you were a bug, what sort of defense would you use?

During the rainy season in the marshlands, Alligator has almost nothing to eat. When the dry season comes, Alligator digs a hole in the pond and waits for the animals to return. Without Alligator and her hole, there would be far fewer animals living in the marsh.

When a young boy happens across a tarantula, it scares him at first! But then he and the tarantula have a conversation, and he learns about the differences between insects and spiders—like the spider’s unique body, which is comprised of a combined head/thorax, abdomen, and palps—as well as some interesting facts about other arachnids!

Click, Jane, and CeCe go digging for dinosaur bones. When they finally dig up a bone, Click and CeCe are sure it’s a dinosaur bone but Jane thinks it is too small. Cloo teaches them something surprising – dinosaurs were all different sizes!

Have you ever gone birdwatching before? Learn about all the different birds that migrate to the Magee Marsh every spring! See all the kinds of birds that make their way to the same spot every year, like warblers, owls, and even ducks!

Have you ever wondered why birds have beaks? They don't have hands like we do, so they need another way to help themselves. Learn all the ways birds use their beaks, and see how different birds have different types of beaks that allow them to catch their meals.

Did you know that dogs have been helping humans for thousands of years? They have done a lot of different jobs to help us, even today! Dogs are more than just pets. They help police officers, people with disabilities, farmers, and even sick people. Have you ever met a dog that does one of these jobs?

Dana is going to the dog park! Meet all of the dogs that are at the park and what makes them special. Do you know the different breeds that are at the park? Help Dana find them!

Do you know how to tell if a creepy-crawly is an insect? Is a spider an insect? What about a millipede? Listen to learn how and put your skills to the test!

Frogs and toads and newts, oh my! Amphibians are a special class of animals. Have you ever seen one? Learn what sets amphibians apart from reptiles, and then take a quiz to see if the animal of your choice makes the cut as an amphibian!

Spiders are nothing to fear! Even though they are carnivores and hunt all sorts of bugs, many spiders cannot harm humans. Spiders can only eat their prey by using their venom to liquefy a bug's insides—in other words, they make bugshakes! Follow along to learn more about common spider mealtime habits.

Garden spiders belong to a group called orb weavers, which spin wheel-shaped webs. Some webs are funnel-shaped and some are very sticky. In this essay about different kinds of spider webs, listeners will learn all about nature's masters of silk weaving.

How did some birds come to have brightly colored feathers to match the flowers and fruits of the tropical forest, but others stayed in muted colors? According to this Arawak folktale, they got their colors from a snake! What happens when there aren’t enough colors to go around?

Have you ever wondered why there are different shaped footprints in the mud or snow? An animal may be nearby! Discover the many animals that are in your environment! Every animal creates different tracks. Some tracks are large, and some tracks are small. Some animals may have five toes while others may have only a few. How many animal tracks can you name?

Do you know how new flowers are made? It’s a process called pollination, which is what happens when pollen is moved from one flower to another! The flowers rely on animals like bees and hummingbirds to do this for them, and in return, they offer the animals delicious nectar to eat. What is your favorite pollen-moving animal?

What good is money to a beaver? In this amazing yet true story, wild beavers build their dam using stolen money that was discard into a creek. While the authorities scoured the area for the cash, the beavers incorporated the bills into their dam.

Sisters Leslie and Brie recently moved next door to a llama ranch, where Stacy keeps two unique animals named Cal and Sterling. Stacy shows the girls how shearing llama hair can be cleaned, carded, spun, washed again, and then knitted into toasty sweaters that keep you warm in the winter!