Looking for a way to entertain your kids this Christmas?

BiOrbic has released two podcasts, each featuring a Christmas Story with a sustainable message. Written by PhD students at the centre, the stories are suitable for children aged 7 or older and bring an element of science into the magic of the holidays.

The first podcast, ‘Steve and the Giant Toy Dump’, is a 30 minute short focusing on a young Irish boy named Steve. Steve comes from a wealthy family and accumulates so many presents each year, he throws them away on his ‘toy dump’. But when Ireland runs out of plastic and no new toys can be made, Steve has to resort to other ways to get his hands on a new toy, learning some crucial lessons about ingratitude and wastefulness in the process.

The second podcast, ‘The Christmas with No Chocolate,’ is an hour long saga following the O’Connor children as they unravel the mystery of disappearing chocolate. Along with Santa’s sustainability elf, they retrace the chocolate supply chain, discovering a variety of environmental problems along the way. However, with the help of a little bit of science, the children may be able to solve these problems just in time to save Christmas!

Both episodes are recorded by Avenue33 Studios and are freely available to stream via BiOrbic’s Spotify channel.

Credits:

Steve and the Giant Toy Dump, written by Periklis Karamanis, Patricie Niemcová, Rhys Orimaco, Zoe Byrne.

The Christmas with No Chocolate, written by Mauricio Troncoso Castellanos, James Britton, Kate McKeever and Charlene Vance.