Trains, Planes And Adventure Games!

Welcome to How To Build A Universe, where stories build worlds!

On today's show Gen Muir explains the importance of independent play, with some fascinating insights and then in our story Thom Lion takes you everywhere man. To Broome on a hot air balloon, to Fiji on a jet plane, and to the centre of the earth on a special bullet train! All to collect some very special treasure that carry secret powers.

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CREDITS:

Hosts: Thom Lion and Gen Muir

Executive Producer: Courtney Ammenhauser

Writing, Sound Design and Songs: Thom Lion

Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:10):
You're listening to Amma Mia podcast.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
Mama Mia acknowledges the traditional owners of land and waters
that this podcast is recorded on Hello to all our
little builders and their grown ups. Welcome to how to
Build a Universe where stories build worlds. I'm Jen Muir,
I'm a parent educator, mum to four, and my co

(00:34):
host is Tomline, creative producer at Mama Maya, or as
we like to call him, Chief of Fuck.

Speaker 3 (00:41):
Hello.

Speaker 1 (00:42):
Can anybody hear me? Captain Tom requesting permission to land? Huh,
I've found the studio.

Speaker 3 (00:50):
Hello, Chen, You wouldn't believe how many exciting destinations I've
just had to search through to get back here. Today's
story has trains, planes, cranes, and did.

Speaker 1 (01:02):
I say trains? Yeah?

Speaker 2 (01:03):
You did?

Speaker 3 (01:03):
Anyway, I've been everywhere man, all over the world, and
it's lucky our little builders listening have the biggest imaginations.

Speaker 1 (01:12):
Yes, I'm talking about you. For what it is worth.

Speaker 2 (01:17):
Permission to land granted, adventure.

Speaker 1 (01:19):
Captain Top. Thank you.

Speaker 2 (01:21):
I can't wait for today's adventure, and I think it's
a perfect theme to help our kids start to develop
some skills in independent play. While we are now having
a ball playing with the kids is really good for
kids to start to play independently as well. Good for
kids and good for parents. Let's be honest, as parents,
we also have stuff to do. It's unrealistic for parents

(01:43):
to be able to play twenty four to seven. And
the good news is there are huge benefits to independent play.
It's when kids play independently that the get really into
that beautiful flow state, child led and really creative. This
play is vital for development. In today's play, we are
going to play with the kids, but when the audio

(02:04):
wraps up, we will be encouraging the kids to head
off with their very own adventure. It is going to
be awesome.

Speaker 3 (02:12):
Yes, O, yes, now adventure pants on Imagination activated.

Speaker 1 (02:17):
Let's go. I'll see you after this. Hello, my little friend.

Speaker 3 (02:25):
Today I'll be using a map to get us started
for the adventure. It's quite dusty, so I'm just going
to blow.

Speaker 1 (02:31):
Off some of the dust. I've swallowed the map. I've
swallowed the bapo M.

Speaker 3 (02:45):
We clearly can't use that map now, but not to worry,
because all we need today is your imagination.

Speaker 1 (02:52):
Adventurer waits. Today we're going to collect a shimmering pearl
from Broom.

Speaker 3 (02:58):
Some magic sand from Fiji and a lava rock from.

Speaker 1 (03:03):
The middle of the Earth, which is.

Speaker 3 (03:05):
About eight thousand degrees down there. But don't worry, I've
packed a fan. We will try in three different ways.
Each treasure we pick up will give your imaginary playworld
a special power.

Speaker 1 (03:17):
So let's go.

Speaker 3 (03:21):
Firstly, we need to think of a mode of transport
that floats up into the air. H What goes into
the sky?

Speaker 1 (03:31):
A kite?

Speaker 3 (03:32):
Yes, they fly, But we need something that floats into
the air that people can ride on too. What about
a balloon? You know those helium balloons that you see
at birthday parties. The helium makes them float up into
the sky. But would that be strong enough to carry
humans as well? Maybe you, but I'd.

Speaker 1 (03:53):
Be a bit too heavy. Oh.

Speaker 3 (03:57):
I know a hot air balloon, which is like a
party balloon, but a lot bigger.

Speaker 1 (04:04):
They use burners to make the hot air, which helps
the balloon float up. Oh, and the.

Speaker 3 (04:11):
Passengers are carried in a basket under the balloon. And
guess what, there's one right in front of us now,
So let's hop in.

Speaker 1 (04:20):
Take a big step forwards.

Speaker 3 (04:23):
That's it, right, We're in the basket ready to go,
and we are floating up and away. This hot air
balloon is moving nice and cruisy. We are heading to Broom,
where the warm ocean sparkles.

Speaker 1 (04:42):
Fun fact.

Speaker 3 (04:44):
Broom is near the top of Australia in Western Australia.
Look down, the forests of trees on the ground look
like little pieces of broccoli.

Speaker 1 (04:57):
Oh hello, Broom.

Speaker 3 (04:59):
We've arrived and our first item to pick up is
a shimmering pearl hiding in a shell. Broom is famous
for her pearls, and they're very pretty. Indeed, some people
like to wear them as jewelry. But this one has
a special power just for you in your magical world.

(05:22):
You can use it to light up dark places to
help you find your way through anywhere. This pearl is
sitting right on the sand in front of you. So
let's lean down and pick up our pearl. We're going
to put it in your adventure bag. Leaning down, pick
it up with your hand.

Speaker 1 (05:40):
That's it.

Speaker 3 (05:42):
Okay, that's our first treasure. We've got two more to go.
We've been up high. Now we're going to go somewhere fast.
We're off to Fiji on a super speedy jet plane.
Right the plane's getting ready to take off. We're getting faster.
On the right way, Here we go. Oh, we're going

(06:09):
so far that my back is pinned to the chair.
The ground is going by so fast our shadow can't
keep up.

Speaker 1 (06:17):
Wave Hello to that eagle over there, Mad, we've landed wool.
That was quick because we are in Fiji. Did you know?

Speaker 3 (06:29):
Fiji is a country in the South Pacific Ocean, just
to the right of Australia and above New Zealand. Can
you fill that squeaky sand between your toes? Now? This
Fiji sand is very special, indeed, because the grains sparkle
like tiny stars. Put your hands out like you're scooping

(06:53):
up handfuls of sand from the sandpit, just like the
sandpit at kindy or when you've gone to the beach.
This magic sand gives you the power of speed. So
whenever you need to zoom, zoom zoom, just sprinkle it
on your shoes and you'll be up mountains and whizzing

(07:14):
across the sea. We're nearly at the finish line, so
we have our shimmering pearl, our magic sand. But what
if we could go somewhere no one's ever been before.

Speaker 1 (07:28):
Well, our third.

Speaker 3 (07:29):
Stop is a train to the center of the Earth
to collect some glowing lava rocks. We're going down, down, down,
just like a drill. This train is going to whip
through tunnels, twisting round and round and round as we
go through each layer of planet Earth to get to

(07:50):
the center. Climb aboard our twisty super bullet underground train.
It's getting warmer and brighter as we get closer to
the center of the Earth. In fact, the Earth's core

(08:12):
is very hot and mainly made of metal. It's a sphere,
which means a circle shape, and we are here.

Speaker 1 (08:23):
Don't bind the lava near the train. Let me just
test it with my finger. It's hot. It's hot, it's hot.

Speaker 3 (08:29):
Didn't need that pinky finger anyway. Look at all the
glowing lava rocks, red, orange, even purple.

Speaker 1 (08:41):
This glowing lava rock will.

Speaker 3 (08:43):
Give you the power to transform into anything you want,
a unicorn or maybe a lion, or transform into a transformerrunk.
Now it's time to head back. Shall we send this

(09:04):
train in reverse? Look at everything we've collected. Each treasure
adds something special to your magical world that you can
visit any time you like, just by closing your eyes
and imagining. And the best part, it's always growing because

(09:26):
you can add new treasures or new adventures anytime you want.
Where would you like to go next to the top
of an ice cream mountain or a rainbow planet in
space where everything bounces. If you can imagine it, you
can play with it until next time.

Speaker 1 (09:47):
Would you look at that, Jen? You know what's amazing.

Speaker 3 (09:51):
We didn't need to pack any special equipment or get
any fancy tickets. All these incredible adventures came straight from
our explorer zone magnificent minds, because when kids get the
chance to dream up their own adventures, that's really when
the special stuff begins.

Speaker 2 (10:11):
And I think I know where I might go next.
Maybe a pool side villa somewhere in the Mediterranean. I
can picture it now. I'll have a double espresso martini.
Thank you, On Carlos, I'll be over there on my laune.

Speaker 3 (10:26):
Joane.

Speaker 1 (10:27):
Sorry, let's get back on. We need to get back
on track.

Speaker 2 (10:32):
Here, focus, I'm sorry, I'm sorry to wrap. Okay, I'm sorry. Tom.
Wherever you're going, remember, stories build universes.

Speaker 3 (10:41):
And your imagination is always ready for an adventure.

Speaker 1 (10:45):
See you next time. Builders.

Speaker 3 (10:51):
The executive producer of How to Build a Universe is
Courtney Umenhauser, with story writing and sound designed by me
Tom Lyon. Thanks for listening to today's episode of How
to Build a Universe.

Speaker 1 (11:02):
We'd love to know what you thought of it.

Speaker 3 (11:05):
You can fill out our survey and go in the
running to win one thousand dollars.

Speaker 1 (11:09):
There's a link in the show notes.