68 trivia questions
Animals
What is the fastest land mammal?
Ages 5+
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The cheetah. Its top speed averages 60 to 70 miles per hour.
Can a cheetah roar like a lion?
Ages 5+
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No. Cheetahs don't roar, but they purr, chirp, growl and hiss.
What is the largest animal that has ever lived on Earth?
Ages 5+
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The blue whale. The biggest ones can grow to about 110 feet long.
Source: Blue Whale, NOAA Fisheries
Blue whales are giants, but their main food is tiny. What do they eat?
Ages 8+
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Krill. The biggest blue whales can eat up to 6 tons of krill in a single day.
Source: Blue Whale, NOAA Fisheries
About how many hours a day does a giant panda spend eating?
Ages 5+
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10 to 16 hours, getting through 70 to 100 pounds of bamboo.
A newborn giant panda cub is about the size of what?
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A stick of butter.
How long is a giraffe's tongue?
Ages 5+
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About 21 inches, long enough to pluck leaves from high branches.
Source: Giraffe, National Geographic
About how many muscles are in an African elephant's trunk?
Ages 8+
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About 40,000.
What does a common octopus squirt to escape an attacker?
Ages 5+
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A cloud of black ink that hides it from view.
Oceans
About how much of Earth's surface is covered by water?
Ages 5+
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About 71 percent.
Source: How Much Water Is There on Earth?, USGS Water Science School
About what share of all Earth's water is in the ocean?
Ages 8+
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About 97 percent.
What is the deepest known part of the ocean called?
Ages 8+
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The Challenger Deep, at the southern end of the Mariana Trench in the western Pacific. It's about 35,876 feet deep.
Source: How deep is the ocean?, NOAA
Is coral a plant or an animal?
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An animal. Corals are built by tiny creatures called polyps, and unlike plants, they don't make their own food.
Where does most of the salt in the ocean come from?
Ages 8+
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Rocks on land. Rain slowly wears the rocks down, and rivers carry the minerals out to sea. Openings in the seafloor add some too.
Source: Why is the ocean salty?, NOAA
Which is the newest named ocean?
Ages 8+
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The Southern Ocean, around Antarctica.
Source: How many oceans are there?, NOAA
How much of the deep ocean floor have explorers actually seen?
Ages 8+
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Less than 0.001 percent of it.
Source: How much of the ocean have we explored?, NOAA Ocean Exploration
About how much of the ocean's life do scientists think is still undiscovered or undescribed?
Ages 8+
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About two-thirds of its species, maybe more.
Source: How much of the ocean have we explored?, NOAA Ocean Exploration
Weather & Earth
How much hotter than the surface of the sun can lightning make the air?
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About five times hotter, up to 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
What makes the boom of thunder?
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Lightning heats the air so fast that the air expands suddenly, and that makes the sound wave we hear as thunder.
You see a lightning flash and count 10 seconds before the thunder. About how far away was it?
Ages 8+
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About 2 miles. Thunder's sound travels about a mile every 5 seconds.
From about how far away can you usually hear thunder?
Ages 5+
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About 10 miles.
Which U.S. national park holds the record for the hottest air temperature ever measured on Earth?
Ages 8+
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Death Valley, which reached 134°F on July 10, 1913.
Source: Weather and Climate, Death Valley National Park (NPS)
Melted rock is called magma while it's underground. What is it called once it erupts from a volcano?
Ages 5+
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Lava.
Source: About Volcanoes, USGS
Where is most of Earth's fresh water?
Ages 8+
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Frozen in ice and glaciers, which hold more than 68 percent of it.
Source: How Much Water Is There on Earth?, USGS Water Science School
Dinosaurs
Which animals alive today evolved from small meat-eating dinosaurs?
Ages 5+
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Birds.
Source: What Makes a Dinosaur a Dinosaur, National Park Service
Were flying pterosaurs dinosaurs?
Ages 5+
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No. They lived during the Age of Dinosaurs, but they were not dinosaurs.
Source: What Makes a Dinosaur a Dinosaur, National Park Service
Were the giant sea reptiles that swam during the Age of Dinosaurs dinosaurs too?
Ages 8+
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No. Marine reptiles lived at the same time, but they were not dinosaurs.
Source: What Makes a Dinosaur a Dinosaur, National Park Service
In which era did all the dinosaurs other than birds live?
Ages 8+
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The Mesozoic Era, from about 252 to 66 million years ago.
Source: Dinosaurs, National Park Service
About how many million years ago did the last non-bird dinosaurs disappear?
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About 66 million years ago, at the end of the Mesozoic Era.
Source: Dinosaurs, National Park Service
Which scientist first named the group Dinosauria?
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Sir Richard Owen, in 1841.
Source: What Makes a Dinosaur a Dinosaur, National Park Service
Name one of the three fossil animals Richard Owen used to describe the first dinosaurs.
Ages 8+
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Iguanodon, Megalosaurus or Hylaeosaurus.
Source: What Makes a Dinosaur a Dinosaur, National Park Service
Did dinosaurs' legs sprawl out to the side like a lizard's, or stand upright under the body?
Ages 5+
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Upright. Scientists describe dinosaurs as extinct land animals with upright limbs.
Source: What Makes a Dinosaur a Dinosaur, National Park Service
In how many U.S. national park areas have fossils of non-bird dinosaurs been found?
Ages 8+
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At least 21.
Source: Dinosaurs, National Park Service
Space
What is the largest planet in our solar system?
Ages 5+
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Jupiter. About 1,000 Earths could fit inside it.
Source: Jupiter Facts, NASA Science
What is Jupiter's Great Red Spot?
Ages 5+
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A giant storm, bigger than Earth, that has been swirling for centuries.
Source: Jupiter Facts, NASA Science
Which planet has the shortest day?
Ages 8+
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Jupiter. One day there lasts about 9.9 hours.
Source: Jupiter Facts, NASA Science
Which planet is the only one less dense than water?
Ages 8+
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Saturn. Its average density is lower than water's.
Source: Saturn: Facts, NASA Science
Which planet is the hottest in our solar system?
Ages 5+
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Venus. Its air is mostly carbon dioxide, a gas that traps heat like a greenhouse.
Source: Venus: Facts, NASA Science
On which planet would you see the sun rise in the west?
Ages 8+
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Venus, because it spins backward compared to Earth.
Source: Venus: Facts, NASA Science
On Venus, which is longer: a day or a year?
Ages 8+
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A day. One Venus day lasts 243 Earth days, longer than a Venus year.
Source: Venus: Facts, NASA Science
If you weigh 60 pounds on Earth, about how much would you weigh on the moon?
Ages 8+
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About 10 pounds. The moon's gravity is one-sixth of Earth's.
Source: Moon Facts, NASA Science
What is the largest volcano in the solar system, and where is it?
Ages 8+
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Olympus Mons, on Mars.
Source: Mars: Facts, NASA Science
About how many Earths would it take to fill the sun?
Ages 5+
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About 1.3 million.
Source: Our Sun: Facts, NASA Science
Your body
Up to how much of a grown-up's body is water?
Ages 5+
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Up to 60 percent.
Who has more water in their body, a newborn baby or a grown-up?
Ages 5+
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A newborn baby, at about 78 percent water.
About how much of your brain is water?
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About 73 percent.
About how many bones is a baby born with?
Ages 5+
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About 300.
Grown-ups have 206 bones. Why do they have fewer than babies?
Ages 8+
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Many of a baby's bones fuse, or grow together, as the child grows.
Where in your body are new blood cells made?
Ages 5+
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Inside your bones, in the bone marrow.
What are the small bones that make up your spine called?
Ages 8+
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Vertebrae.
How many baby teeth do most kids have once they've all come in?
Ages 5+
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20, usually all in place by about 30 months old.
Source: Teething, MedlinePlus
Bugs
Fireflies aren't really flies. What kind of insect are they?
Ages 5+
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Beetles.
Source: Synchronous Fireflies, Great Smoky Mountains National Park (NPS)
Why do fireflies flash their lights?
Ages 5+
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Mostly to attract a mate: the flashes are signals to other fireflies.
Source: Synchronous Fireflies, Great Smoky Mountains National Park (NPS)
What rare trick do some fireflies in Great Smoky Mountains National Park do with their lights?
Ages 8+
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They flash in sync, all at the same time.
Source: Synchronous Fireflies, Great Smoky Mountains National Park (NPS)
What is the only plant monarch caterpillars eat?
Ages 5+
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Milkweed.
Up to how many miles do some monarch butterflies fly on their trip south for the winter?
Ages 8+
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Up to 3,000 miles, to California and Mexico.
Which tiny plant-eating insects do ladybugs love to eat?
Ages 5+
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Aphids. Eating them helps protect crops.
Source: Ladybugs, National Geographic
What are male honeybees called?
Ages 8+
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Drones.
Source: Honeybee, National Geographic
How many wings does a dragonfly have?
Ages 5+
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Four, and it can hover in place and even fly backward.
Source: Dragonflies, National Geographic
About how long ago did the insect group that dragonflies belong to first appear?
Ages 8+
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About 325 million years ago.
Source: Dragonflies, National Geographic
U.S. landmarks
What was the world's first national park?
Ages 5+
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Yellowstone, created on March 1, 1872.
Source: Birth of a National Park, Yellowstone National Park (NPS)
Which four presidents are carved into Mount Rushmore?
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George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.
Source: History & Culture, Mount Rushmore National Memorial (NPS)
In which state's Black Hills is Mount Rushmore?
Ages 5+
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South Dakota.
Source: History & Culture, Mount Rushmore National Memorial (NPS)
The Liberty Bell's famous wide crack is actually what?
Ages 8+
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A repair job! The bell cracked again later, which silenced it.
Source: The Liberty Bell, Independence National Historical Park (NPS)
Who first called it the Liberty Bell?
Ages 8+
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Abolitionists, people working to end slavery. An abolitionist publication first used the name in 1835.
Source: The Liberty Bell, Independence National Historical Park (NPS)
How many rays stick out of the Statue of Liberty's crown?
Ages 5+
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Seven. The crown also has 25 windows.
Source: Statue Statistics, Statue of Liberty National Monument (NPS)
What date is written on the tablet the Statue of Liberty holds?
Ages 8+
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July 4, 1776, in Roman numerals: JULY IV MDCCLXXVI.
Source: Statue Statistics, Statue of Liberty National Monument (NPS)
About how tall is the Statue of Liberty from the ground to the tip of the torch?
Ages 8+
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About 305 feet.
Source: Statue Statistics, Statue of Liberty National Monument (NPS)
Play it at a party
Grab and Answer
7–12
Ages
8–20, two teams
Players
15–20 min
How long
- Line up two teams facing each other and give each player a number, so each team has a 1, a 2 and so on.
- Put a beanbag or soft toy in the middle.
- Read a question, then call a number. Those two players race to grab the beanbag.
- Whoever grabs it answers first. A right answer scores a point; a wrong one passes the question to the other player.
Borrowed from steal the bacon, where the full rules live.
Freeze and Answer
5–8
Ages
5–20
Players
10–15 min
How long
- Play music and let everyone dance.
- Stop the music; everyone freezes like a statue.
- Read a question. The first frozen statue to raise a hand gets to answer.
- Start the music again. Give every child at least one question before anyone gets a second.
Borrowed from Musical Statues, where the full rules live.
Trivia Trail
6–12
Ages
2–12, in pairs
Players
15–25 min
How long
- Write ten answers on cards and hide them around the room or yard.
- Give each pair the matching ten questions on a sheet.
- Pairs hunt for the cards and match each answer to its question.
- The first pair with every question matched correctly wins.
Borrowed from scavenger hunt, where the full rules live.
When to run it
- As the main game for a sleepover or a party of 8- to 12-year-olds.
- As a seated round while the cake is cut.
- During dinner at a family party, kids against grown-ups.
More games for the same party: Party Games for 10-Year-Olds and Indoor Party Games for Kids.
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Under-the-sea party ideasFrequently asked questions
- What are good trivia questions for kids?
- Ones with a short, surprising answer a child can picture, like a newborn panda being about the size of a stick of butter. Mix easy and hard questions so every kid gets one right. Animal, space and ocean questions tend to land with every age.
- How many trivia questions do you need for a party?
- About 15 to 20 for a 15-minute round with two teams. Plan on roughly a minute per question, including the guessing and the reveal, and keep a few extras in case a round goes fast.
- How do you make trivia fair for kids of different ages?
- Use the age tags to give younger kids their own easier questions, or pair a younger and an older child on each team. On number questions, count a close guess as right, so a 6-year-old who says about a mile still scores.
- Where do the answers come from?
- From the source linked under each answer: NASA, NOAA, the U.S. Geological Survey, the National Park Service, the Smithsonian's National Zoo or National Geographic. Every answer was checked against its source, and a fact we couldn't verify didn't make the list.
