Starwhale Stories
Come explore with Starwhale, a friendly giant whose curiosity takes him all over the known universe in search of adventures and discovery! These stories will help kids (and you, the parents and caregivers as well) get excited about the cosmos and our place in them. Through fun and approachable stories Starwhale explores the basics like gravity, planets, and asteroids as well as intriguing and theoretical topics like interstellar travel, time, dimensions, and astrobiology. Stories are geared toward the 4 to 12 yr old age group but are enjoyed by kids and adults of all ages--no astrophysics background required. © 2021 All Content
Episodes
Have you ever had ringing in your ears? Annoying isn't it? That's just what happened to Starwhale but when the low hum wouldn't go he reached out. No one believed him except a group of star seekers who believe they've identified the cosmic frequency of the universe. Will Starwhale ever figure out where it's coming from? A few scientists are willing to help and what they find is, well, you have to listen to find ...
The best question askers in the universe are... 4 year olds. And on this particular babysitting evening, Starwhale answers lots of questions but in the end gets stumped. The kid's curiosity nags at him and he sets off to answer one of the oldest questions in the universe.
Themes: Expanse of the Universe, Grouping of Galaxies
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And now for something a bit different! An exhausted and frustrated mom cleans the house for the umpteenth time and can't take it any more. She makes a wish upon an exploding star and that wish has some serious consequences--down to the fabric of space and time.
Meanwhile, Starwhale and a scientist friend are observing the supernova when things start to unravel. They hurry back, all along the way encountering entropy and the uni...
Starwhale comes across a research paper by unknown authors. Taken by the originality of their work he sets out on a search that leads him to the most unlikely source--a fourth grader who's missing home, a bit bored, and just trying to not get looped into cleaning rain gutters with his dad this summer.
Themes: Spherules (Micrometeorites), Scientific Method, Research Journals, Summertime and Learning by Doing
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Stuck. An entire planet is stuck on lockdown, including Starwhale. What could make matters worse? Maybe if half the planet's life-saving vaccine's were stuck too! With the clock ticking and an entire planet depending on them, who will help Starwhale and the salvaging crew when they run out of options?
Themes: The Power of a Child with Questions, Tides and the Moon, Pandemics and Vaccines
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Scientists and leaders of a trapped planet work against the clock to find an escape. Their solution, although promising, scares even Starwhale. What follows is harrowing story of near-extinction, massive explosions, and bravery.
This is part two of a two-part series; see Ep.44, The Steel-Curtain Sky, for the first half of the story.
Themes: Kessler Syndrome, Planetary Climates and Cooling, Improvising, Bravery
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"Wait, don't touch that dial!" A hero, space station and crew, two warring countries, and an entire planet--all trapped with very little time to escape. When Starwhale hears the frantic SOS signal it may already be too late but that doesn't stop him from trying to untangle the trickiest problem he's faced so far.
Episode 44 is part one of a two-part series
Themes: Kessler Syndrome, Planetary Climates and Cooling
...Starwhale and Marlew continue their quest, that begins in Episode 42, to uncover what happened to the famous sculptor, Boisluth. What they discover changes their perceptions about life, legacy, and love.
Themes: Astrobiology, Gravity, Low Gravity Planets and Life, Habitable Zone, Art
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A pioneering impresario organizes a historic arts exhibition in outer space. The event showcases a musician, painter, poet, and sculptor as they give their first ever performances in zero gravity. But then, a mysterious disappearance leaves a planet, and a young daughter, searching for answers. And Starwhale is called on to help solve a mystery that will take him and a new friend across a planet... and beyond!
Themes: Space Tourism...
Twinkle Twinkle Little... you know the song. But do you know why? Why they twinkle? That's the question a little girl asks mom and dad--and mom and dad in turn ask Starwhale as he visits for a bedtime story. The answer will change the way you look at the stars.
Themes: Light, Atmospheres, Turbulence
*Special Note* The first 40 episodes of Starwhale and the Known Universe were produced three each week--a good way to get started...
A group of migrants need Starwhale's help to decide between two rockets for their journey. As he talks with the rocket builders he learns that one is a failure and the other is not... but what does it mean to fail? And which one of the builders do you consider the failure by the end of the story?
Themes: 'Failure' as a Key to Progress and Innovation, Iterating, Persevering
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A mysterious invitation crosses Starwhale's path, inviting him to one of the 'grandest events this corner of the galaxy." When he arrives he's a VIP guest and given a full agenda of fun activities. But there's a problem with this leisure cruise of a stay and the agenda unravels into a mess of food fights, sloshy pools, cheating card players, and much more. But in the end Starwhale gets to meet the captain and he...
At a stargazing convention we learn the story of a little girl and her mother. The two map the heavens together until tragedy strikes, leaving just the girl, her telescope, and her star. When this special star somehow disappears from the sky it takes a raging storm and a dark, dark night to bring back the light of the stars to the girl, and her entire city.
Themes: Dark Sky Cities, Light Pollution, Types of Stars
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On his way to be guest of honor at a planetary alignment festival, Starwhale is sidetracked by a story-telling astronaut miner. Not able to pass up the story, he is drawn in and loses track of time as a story of ambition, grit, drive, and greed, unfolds. The tragic tale is both unbelievable and cautionary.
Themes: Planet types, mining planets and moons, black holes and time dilation, greed
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...10. 9. 8. 7. 6. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1... BLASTOFF! Welcome to the Intergalactic Rocket Race! Starwhale is right there with the rest of the spectators but he has a special reason for attending. One of these rocketeers is an old friend, an engineer who vowed she'd win an Intergalactic Rocket Race and sail on light through the stars. Will she pull off the upset? It's a close one!
This episode is in honor of Women's History Month
It's cold out there in space and Starwhale is in search of a warm blanky to keep warm. He visits a planetary system and notices that each planet has a different type of atmosphere, some too thick and some too thin. When he finally finds one that's just right he learns how important a nice, warm, cuddly blanket--or atmosphere--is.
Themes: Planetary Atmospheres, Green House Gasses & Effect, 'Goldilocks' Zone
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Greatness often begins in the smallest and most insignificant places... the flap of a wing and the flutter of a balloon through the sky. Starwhale's new friend, a scientist grieving the loss of his wife to a tragic storm, is on a mission to predict the weather--something everyone says cannot be done. An initial spark of an idea grows into a stratospheric experiment and a last-minute save comes from an unlikely place (hint, you&...
After the success (and failure) of his ballooning experiment (Ep.32) it takes time for the sting of failure to fade. But as it fades, the lure of looking into the sky and wondering about the heavens only grows until an unlikely recovery leads to an astounding, and mystefying discovery. While this story seems to wrap up nicely, it's not until the next episode (ep.34) that the full story becomes clear. Stay tuned!
Themes: Wonder,...
When a young boy receives a balloon on his birthday it opens up a world of curiosities about the sky and what's up there. The curiosities grow and eventually he comes up with a (mostly) perfect experiment. His success is short-lived as this part of the story ends on a bit of a cliff-hanger, to be continued in the next episode (Ep.33).
Themes: Wonder, Looking Up, Weather Balloons
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Each planet is an adventure with its surprises. Starwhale knows this and it's what keeps him exploring. And on this expedition, he follows a hunch and dives deep into the atmosphere of a gas giant to discover what treasures await. You'll never guess what he finds!
Themes: Gas Giant Planets, Gravity
Note: I use the term "sun" and "solar system" a few places in this story. My bad. Sun is what we call our star ...
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