How could an explosive Big Bang be the birth of our universe?

No one knows what kicked off the Big Bang that eventually allowed the stars to begin forming. Adolf Schaller for STScI, CC BY Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskidsus@theconversation.com. How can a Big Bang have been the start of the universe, since intense explosions destroy everything? – Tristan S., age 8, Newark, Delaware Pretend you’re a perfectly flat chess piece in a game of chess on a perfectly flat