The Amazing Tardigrade micro-lesson

Sarah Sanchez Medrano

Do you struggle with balancing your kids’ screen time with their education? Say hello to 1Question, the app that solves this problem with a fun twist! Our app lets your child earn screen time minutes in their favourite apps by watching educational videos and correctly answering quiz questions. And the best part? You get to decide which apps to lock behind learning using 1Question.

Learning time

Kids learn by watching short, engaging video lessons.

This lesson is about the amazing tardigrade also known as the moss piglet or the water bear. Tardigrades are not immortal, but they can live up to 30 years without food or water. They can also live at temperatures as cold as absolute zero or above boiling and at pressure six times that of the ocean’s deepest trenches. And they can survive in the vacuum of space for up to 10 days. They can do this because of a unique protein in their bodies called Dsup, short for damage suppressor, that protects their DNA from harmful things like radiation which is present in soil, water, and vegetation habitats that they normally live in like moss. Another amazing thing about tardigrades is that when their environment dries up, so do they. Tardigrades will enter a state called desiccation in which they shrivel up, losing most of their body’s water, and slowing down their metabolism. This is known as cryptobiosis. It stays a mummy until it's inundated with water and pops back to life. Tardigrades exposed to freezing temperatures enter cryptobiosis and live longer than those that didn’t. And these are all the reasons that the tardigrade is one of the hardiest animals that exists.

Answer time

Kids earn more screen time by answering fun educational questions.

Here are some example of questions about this video that kids may be asked in the 1Question app to earn screen time.

DSUP does not protect them from harmful things like radiation

1) No

2) Yes
Tardigrades are immortal

1) No

2) Yes
Tardigrades can live at temperatures below freezing and above boiling and at pressures six times that of the ocean’s deepest trenches

1) Yes

2) No
Tardigrades can live up to 30 without food and water

1) Yes

2) No
Tardigrades enter a state called hibernation

1) No

2) Yes
Tardigrades have a unique protein in their DNA called DSUP

1) Yes

2) No
Tardigrades somehow know when their climate is drying up and activate their cryptobiosi

1) Yes

2) No

Recreational screen time

Kids can use the screen time minutes they earned to unlock the apps selected by their parent e.g. games, social media, streaming, etc.

Out of time

When screen time minutes run out, kids are locked out and need to complete more learning in 1Question to earn more time.

Meet your educator

Our micro-courses are developed and delivered by qualified educators from around the world.

Sarah Sanchez Medrano

Part time Instructional Designer, focusing on science curriculum and mental health curriculum. I work part time in order to have time to pursue my hobbies and ensure I live a healthy, happy life.

More lessons from Sarah