The Minecraft Experiment

Tumble Science Podcast for Kids

Tumble Media

Kids & Family, Education For Kids

4.3 • 2.8K Ratings

🗓️ 12 December 2025

⏱️ 24 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

How do people learn — and how can a video game help us find out? In this episode, we meet cognitive scientist Charley Wu, who built the ultimate science “mod” in Minecraft! Journey into a video game world of science to discover how and why Charley used one of the world’s most popular games to follow his curiosity about how humans learn. Featuring a “braintrust” of kid Minecraft experts to explain the game to Lindsay and Marshall, and a song inspired by The Minecraft Movie. You can learn more about Charlie, and find a transcript of this episode on the blog on our website, ⁠sciencepodcastforkids.com⁠. Support us on Patreon! You’ll get ad free episodes, special chances to be on the show, and of course, birthday shoutouts, when you sign up at the $5 level at ⁠patreon.com/tumblepodcast⁠. Find out what we’re up to - from live events, merch drops, and more when you subscribe to our newsletter, on ⁠sciencepodcastforkids.com⁠. You can also follow us on ⁠Instagram⁠ and subscribe to our ⁠YouTube.⁠ Try finding awesome shirts and other stuff on our merch store: tumblepodcast.dashery.com

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, listeners, this is Anne Bogle, author, blogger, and creator of the podcast, What Should I Read Next?
0:06.1	Since 2016, I've been helping readers bring more joy and delight into their reading lives.
0:10.9	Every week, I attack all things books and reading with a guest and guide them in discovering their next read.
0:15.7	They share three books they love, one book they don't, and what they've been reading lately.
0:19.5	And I recommend three titles they may enjoy reading next. Guests have said our conversations are like therapy,
0:25.6	troubleshooting issues that have plagued their reading lives for years, and possibly the
0:29.5	rest of their lives as well. And of course, recommending books that meet the moment, whether they
0:33.7	are looking for deep introspection to spur or encourage a life change, or a frothy page turner to help them escape the stresses of work, school, everything.
0:42.5	You'll learn something about yourself as a reader,
0:44.5	and you'll definitely walk away confident to choose your next read
0:47.3	with a whole list of new books and authors to try.
0:49.7	So join us each Tuesday for What Should I Read Next?
0:53.2	Subscribe now wherever you're listening to this podcast and visit our website, What Should I Read Next? Subscribe now wherever you're listening to this podcast
0:55.5	and visit our website, What Should I Read Next? Podcast.com to find out more.
1:03.4	Hi, I'm Lindsay. And I'm Marshall. Welcome to Tumble, the show where we explore stories of
1:08.5	science discovery. Today, we're doing science in a video game.
1:13.3	Wait, how do you do science in a video game?
1:15.2	And what video game?
1:17.1	We're doing a Minecraft experiment.
1:20.6	We're going to find out how a scientist turned one of the world's most popular video games
1:25.7	into a laboratory to discover how we learn.
1:35.3	Today's question comes to us from a group of kids we'll be hearing from throughout this episode.
	...

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