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

Written and read by Tom Gurn

Deep beneath Western Australia's Nullarbor Plain, scientists are uncovering a hidden world of rare cave-dwelling spiders. In this episode, Tom Gurn takes us underground to explore the eerie silence, delicate ecosystems, and the surprising discoveries that come with searching for life in total darkness. These blind, pale arachnids may be tiny, but they raise big questions about conservation, extinction, and what it means to protect species most of us will never see.

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

The achievements of women scientists are non-existent in the Australian high school curriculum.

They don’t move, don’t make noise, and don’t have brains but sea sponges might just help cure cancer. In this episode, we dive into the hidden world of marine sponges and the incredible promise they hold for modern medicine. With research happening right here in Western Australia, scientists are uncovering powerful chemical compounds inside these ancient ocean dwellers, some already used in cancer treatments, others just waiting to be explored.

This is a story about discovery, time, and the overlooked power of life beneath the waves.

Written by Owen Cumming and read by Michael Gatt

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

Giant wombats. Marsupial lions. Thunderbirds. Australia’s ancient landscapes were once home to massive megafauna creatures as strange as they were enormous. But around 40,000 years ago, they vanished.

In this episode, we explore the mystery behind their extinction. Was it climate change? Human hunting? Or something more complex? With new fossil evidence and evolving scientific theories, we dig into the clues that could finally solve one of Australia’s oldest cold cases — and what it might mean for the species at risk today.

Written and read by Cat Williams

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

The ocean is full of sound, from the haunting calls of whales to the crackling of coral reefs. But now, those natural voices are being drowned out by noise pollution. Ships, sonar, oil rigs, and even tourism are changing the underwater soundscape, making it harder for marine animals to communicate, navigate, and survive.

In this episode, we explore how human-made noise is disrupting marine life, what scientists are doing to understand and reduce its impact and why quiet might be the ocean’s most powerful form of healing.

Written by Melanie Julien-Martial and read by Alyshia Gatani

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