What if the best classroom didn’t have walls at all?

In this episode of Particle Word for Word, we head to Turtle Camp a hands-on conservation program blending science, culture, and connection to Country. Written and read by Cat Williams, this story explores how kids in the Kimberley are learning to track turtles, monitor nests, and care for their environment in ways rooted in thousands of years of knowledge.

It’s not just about turtles. It’s about identity. Pride. And showing the next generation that they already belong.

For more science stories like this, visit particle.scitech.org.au.

In this episode of Particle Word for Word, we dive headfirst into the fascinating, futuristic and sometimes fraught world of de-extinction.

What happens when you splice a woolly mammoth gene into a lab mouse? What if extinction wasn’t the end of the story, but just... an intermission? Join us as we explore the sharp, speculative science behind resurrecting long lost species from genetic puzzles to ecological ethics.

Based on the article Of Woolly Mice and Mammoths by Jackson Ryan and read by Alyshia Gatani, this episode doesn’t just ask can we bring the mammoth back it asks, should we?

A curious, compelling listen for anyone who’s ever wondered where the line is between conservation and creation.

For more, visit particle.scitech.org.au.

Written and read by Cody Robinson

In this episode, Cody Robinson takes us to Garden Island, a restricted naval base off Western Australia’s coast, where one of the state’s northernmost little penguin colonies is quietly fighting for survival. Away from the crowds of Penguin Island, Cody joins marine biologist Dr Belinda Cannell on a survey mission, scrambling over rocks, peering into burrows, and piecing together a story of resilience and risk. Through empty nests, microchipped birds, and surprise new arrivals, we learn how these tiny penguins reveal deeper truths about climate change, coastal development, and the fragile balance of ocean ecosystems.

For more science stories, visit particle.scitech.org.au