Episodes
Welcome to When Dinosaurs Roamed the Earth podcast series by Cambridge For Kids. This tenth episode looks at the question Could We Bring Back Dinosaurs? Recent advances in science have made the idea of cloning dinosaurs more likely sometime in the future. The oldest DNA found intact was from around one million years ago. For dinosaurs, we would need to go back 66 million years. The question is, would a sample survive? In this episode, you will learn about DNA - the building blocks of life....
Published 03/24/21
Welcome to The Rise of The Roman Empire podcast series by Cambridge For Kids. This tenth episode looks at The Legacy of the Romans. The ancient Romans have made a dramatic impact on the modern world. Having already acquired blueprints from the ancient Greeks by force, they added strength and conquest to a Greek worldview. The result was advancements in art, architecture, technology, literature, language, religion, and of course warfare. In this episode, you will learn about their influence on...
Published 03/16/21
Welcome to The Ancient Greeks podcast series by Cambridge For Kids. This final tenth episode looks at The Legacy of Ancient Greece. The Ancient Greeks had a tremendous effect on not only the ancient world but throughout history, leading to the present day. Language, the arts, political systems, and science are but a few examples of what the Greeks advanced. In this final episode, you will learn about the remarkable innovations they made. How myth and philosophy developed, cosmic observations,...
Published 03/09/21
Welcome to The Age of the Egyptians series by Cambridge For Kids. This last episode in the series looks at The Legacy of Ancient Egypt. Five thousand years ago, along the Nile River in Africa, lived one of the most extraordinary civilizations in history. They built awe-inspiring mega structures, invented ingenious devices, and pushed human knowledge in areas like science, to new heights. In this final episode, you will learn about the advancements they made in areas like medicine and...
Published 03/02/21
Welcome to When Dinosaurs Roamed the Earth podcast series by Cambridge For Kids. This ninth episode looks at The Extinction of Dinosaurs. Around 65 million years ago the dinosaurs and many other species, became extinct.  The mystery gave rise to countless theories on why. But in 1981 an outlandish proposal was put forward, that a huge meteor smashed into Earth obliterating life. What started off as a crazy idea has now grown into the best explanation of how and why the dinosaurs became...
Published 02/23/21
Welcome to The Rise of The Roman Empire podcast series by Cambridge For Kids. This ninth episode looks at Latin Literature and Modern English. Latin, the language of the Ancient Romans was spoken throughout the Empire and gave rise to incredible works of literature. Today the Romans are but a memory but what survives is Latin. About 70% of all English words originates from Latin. Brought to Britain by Romanised Germanic tribes, following the invasion of Julius Caesar in 55 BC. In this...
Published 02/16/21
Welcome to The Ancient Greeks podcast series by Cambridge For Kids. This ninth episode looks at The Olympian Gods. In order for the Ancient Greeks to make sense of a chaotic universe, the immortal gods were used to explain the forces of nature and the human experience. The greatest of these gods lived atop Mount Olympus, ruled over by Zeus the thunderer. They were passionate, spiteful, jealous and insecure beings that both loved and despised humanity. In this episode, you will learn about the...
Published 02/09/21
Welcome to The Age of the Egyptians podcast series by Cambridge For Kids. This ninth episode looks at Egyptian Art and Architecture. The Ancient Egyptians did things big. They were a deeply religious civilization so the bigger the structure or more profound the art, the greater the reward would be in the afterlife. Huge monuments cut from granite and brightly painted statues with precious jewels were a common theme that continued from the Old to the New Kingdom. In this episode, you will...
Published 02/02/21
Welcome to When Dinosaurs Roamed the Earth podcast series by Cambridge For Kids. This eighth episode looks at The Herbivores. 100 million years ago during the Jurassic and the Cretaceous Periods, some of the largest animals lumbered around the Earth. They had small brains with complex digestive systems and only ate plants. Other plant-eaters like the hadrosaurs and stegosaurus had armor and sharp horns to protect themselves from hungry carnivores. In this episode, you will learn about the...
Published 01/27/21
Welcome to The Rise of The Roman Empire podcast series by Cambridge For Kids. This eighth episode looks at Julius Caesar. One of the greatest military generals in history, he conquered most of Europe, for Rome. He was once kidnapped by pirates, invaded the land of Britons, had a love affair with Cleopatra and started a bloody civil war that effectively ended the Roman Republic and started the age of the Emperors. In this episode, you will learn about his family and his many military...
Published 01/21/21
Welcome to The Ancient Greeks podcast series by Cambridge For Kids. This eighth episode looks at Athens and Sparta. The Athenians, skilled traders with a well-rounded society, they valued art, culture and democracy. The Spartans, experts in warfare valued strength, the monarchy and were suspicious of outsiders. They were once allies, but these powerful Greek city-states would become fierce enemies igniting a bloody civil war that ripped ancient Greece apart. In this episode, you will learn...
Published 01/18/21
Welcome to The Age of the Egyptians podcast series by Cambridge For Kids. This eighth episode looks at Egyptian Customs and Beliefs. Ancient Egyptians believed that each person's soul was immortal. In order for the soul to reach the afterlife a complex, traditional set of customs was required, sometimes ending with mummification. If these rites were not completed the dead would come back to haunt the living in the form of a ghost. In this episode, you will learn about burial customs and what...
Published 01/14/21
Welcome to When Dinosaurs Roamed the Earth podcast series by Cambridge For Kids. This sixth episode looks at The Velociraptor. Velociraptors walked the Earth during the late Cretaceous period, about 90 to 65 million years ago and are closely related to modern birds. Extremely clever and deadly predators, these turkey-sized dinosaurs evolved to become perfect trackers and some could even glide using strong feathered wings.Written and Narrated by Cambridge University Archaeologist: Matthew John...
Published 01/11/21
Welcome to The Seven Wonders of the ancient world by Cambridge For Kids. This seventh episode looks at The Great Pyramid of Giza. Situated on the Giza plateau near the modern-day city of Cairo in Egypt, the great pyramid was the tallest structure ever built until the 19th century. Part of a royal burial complex it rises to a height of 146m and is made up of over two million blocks of hand-worked stone. But important questions still linger over the pyramids. How was it built? And who built...
Published 01/08/21
Welcome to The Rise of The Roman Empire podcast series by Cambridge For Kids. This seventh episode looks at Roman Art. The Romans greatly appreciated the ancient Greeks, especially their art. Instead of inventing new forms of art the Romans simply copied greek styles and called it Roman. But where they truly flourished was in its revolutionary architecture, portraits and carved relief sculptures.Written and Narrated by Cambridge University Archaeologist: Matthew John...
Published 01/04/21
Welcome to The Ancient Greeks podcast series by Cambridge For Kids. This seventh episode looks at Greek Mythology. Thousands of years ago people did not have sciences like we have today to help them understand life. Ancient Greek people could see sickness, death, and natural disasters, but they did not understand what caused them. Mythology in the ancient world was used as a way to explain these things which contained monsters, bizarre beasts, and the gods.Written and Narrated by Cambridge...
Published 07/01/20
Welcome to The Age of the Egyptians podcast series by Cambridge For Kids. This seventh episode looks at The Great Pyramid and Aliens. Archaeologists have spent many years trying to crack the mysteries of the ancient pharaohs' burial tombs, but are yet to even scratch the surface of the pyramids' true history and nature. The pyramids' baffling past has given rise, over the course of the 20th and 21st century to countless theories about their construction, mostly involving aliens!Written and...
Published 06/29/20
Welcome to When Dinosaurs Roamed the Earth podcast series by Cambridge For Kids. This sixth episode looks at The T-Rex, King of Dinosaurs. The name Tyrannosaurus Rex means ‘king of the tyrant lizards’ in Greek. It stood 4m tall and 12m long and weighed as much as 9 tons. It had very powerful legs and a muscular tail, which was necessary to balance its large, heavy head and permitted it to move quickly. Studies suggest the giant could run 10 to 25 mph. The T-rex's bite could utilize up to...
Published 06/24/20
Welcome to The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World podcast series by Cambridge For Kids. This sixth episode looks at Mausoleum at Halicarnassus. It was a huge burial chamber built for Mausolus, the leader of Caria and governor of the Persian Empire, in 350 BC. It was built using Persia's rich source of marble, set on a rectangular platform and contained Ionic columns with a stepped roof in the shape of a pyramid. On top of the roof was a gigantic statue of Mausolus riding a chariot, in the...
Published 06/22/20
 Welcome to The Rise of The Roman Empire podcast series by Cambridge For Kids. This sixth episode looks at Life as a Roman. Everyday life in a Roman city was totally reliant on your status in society. The city, however, contained a mix of rich and poor people. The rich had the advantage of slave labour, whether it was warming the water at the baths, cooking and serving them their late afternoon meal, or educating their children.  The poor, on the other hand, had no education, lived in...
Published 06/19/20
Welcome to The Ancient Greeks podcast series by Cambridge For Kids. This sixth episode looks at Architecture and Art. Ancient Greek architects and artists have provided some of the finest and most unique buildings ever seen in the ancient world. Through the design and use of their temples, sculptures and pottery, the Greeks would live by a central code, which was clear to see in their art and architecture. They would, in turn, be responsible for the start of classical design, which now...
Published 06/17/20
 Welcome to The Age of the Egyptians podcast series by Cambridge For Kids. This sixth episode looks at Tutankhamun and the Curse. The Pharaoh Tutankhamun died in 1323 BC aged around 18. His body was moved to the Valley of the Kings, across the Nile from the city of Luxor in Egypt. When famous British archaeologist Howard Carter discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922 it was worldwide news but, what got more headlines was the story of the Curse of the Pharaoh, which is said to still exist...
Published 06/15/20
Welcome to When Dinosaurs Roamed the Earth podcast series by Cambridge For Kids. This fifth episode looks at the Modern-Day Study of Dinosaurs. In these modern times, we are just beginning to decode the information hidden within the fossil record. But keeping in mind that these remains have changed from their original living state to fossils over millions of years. Nevertheless, scientists are making huge progress in the way this research is captured. These new techniques have also helped...
Published 06/15/20
Welcome to The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World podcast series by Cambridge For Kids. This fifth episode looks at The Statue of Zeus at Olympia. The Statue of Zeus was a massive 12 meters high, statue of the god Zeus, the King of the Ancient Greek gods. The statue was made from an inner wooden structure then enclosed with luxurious materials such as ivory, ebony, bronze, gold leaf and precious jewels.  Zeus’s eyes were made of vibrant gems and around his head was a silver olive branch. The...
Published 06/10/20