Get smart curated videos delivered to your inbox.   SUBSCRIBE
The Kid Should See This

The Animal That Wouldn’t Die: The Hydra

Watch more with these video collections:

Just a few millimeters long and full of embryonic cells, the hydra is a small and mysterious cnidarian polyp that seems to defy mortality. Skunk Bear’s Adam Cole and Robert Krulwich team up to tell the amazing tale of scientist Daniel E. Martinez and his surprising hydra experiment: The Animal That Wouldn’t Die.

observing hydra
Related reading: senescence. Bonus: Here’s video of a feeding Hydra, recorded with a portable USB digital microscope by Switzerland-based microbiologist Jenni Bernard.

In the archives: more Skunk Bear.

This Webby award-winning video collection exists to help teachers, librarians, and families spark kid wonder and curiosity. TKSST features smarter, more meaningful content than what's usually served up by YouTube's algorithms, and amplifies the creators who make that content.

Curated, kid-friendly, independently-published. Support this mission by becoming a sustaining member today.

🌈 Watch these videos next...

You’re A Firework (Scientifically Speaking)

Rion Nakaya

Why does a frozen lake sound like a Star Wars blaster?

Rion Nakaya

Why Can’t We Walk Straight?

Rion Nakaya

What’s the difference between hibernation and sleep?

Rion Nakaya

What have we found while looking for another Earth?

Rion Nakaya

Vampire Bats: Bloodthirsty … and Cuddly – Skunk Bear

Rion Nakaya

Vaccines 101: How vaccines work

Rion Nakaya

The Undying Hydra: A Freshwater Mini-Monster That Defies Aging

Rion Nakaya

The mRNA Revolution, an overnight success decades in the making

Rion Nakaya