Sample pickThe Perseids are seen every August. What are they?
Science Trivia Questions for Kids, in Five Branches of Science: how it works
Kids ask why all day, so every answer here comes with a reason. Read the question on the card aloud, tap the choice they call out, then press Check answer. These 150 science trivia questions for kids are split evenly over five branches: animals, the human body, space, weather and materials, with 30 questions in each.
Pick a branch and play
Open Topic and choose one of the five branches, or leave them all on for a mixed round. Tap the choice the room settles on, then press Check answer. The card shows the right choice, one sentence on why, and a link to the Wikipedia article the fact was checked on. Wrong answers wait under Missed for another go. Exam mode asks 20 questions and scores them at the end, topic by topic.
What each branch asks
Animals runs from which group feeds its babies milk to how a blue whale strains its food. The human body covers the heart, lungs, senses, teeth and joints. Space goes from the smallest planet to the light the James Webb telescope sees. Weather names the clouds, the storm scales and a weather station's instruments. Materials asks what glass, steel and pencil lead are made of, and why wood floats.
Tips
Teachers: choose the Topic for this week's unit, then press Print question sheet and Print answer key for a 20-question quiz.
Before you press Check answer, ask players why they chose it. The sentence under the answer settles the argument.
Use Question of the day to open a lesson: one science question and one reason, in under two minutes.
Questions and answers
What ages are these science questions for?
Ages 6 to 12. Of the 150 questions, 49 are easy and suit ages 6 to 8, such as how many lungs you have. Another 65 are medium, for ages 8 to 10, and 36 are hard, for ages 10 to 12, such as which moon of Jupiter has the most active volcanoes. Every question has four choices.
How do I know the answers are right?
Each answer, and each extra fact in the sentence under it, was checked on September 19, 2026 against the Wikipedia article linked beside it. A question was dropped when the article did not state the fact in plain words. Records, moon counts and anything else that changes yearly are left out.
Are these the same questions as the general kids' trivia pack?
No. The general kids' pack has its own space, animal and body topics, and none of these 150 questions repeats one of them. Play that pack for a mixed round with geography and sports rules, then come here for science only, including whole topics on weather and materials.
A blue whale has no teeth. What does it use to strain tiny animals out of the seawater?Wikipedia: Whale
A natural bath sponge from the sea is what kind of living thing?Wikipedia: Sponge
A shark has no bones. What is its skeleton made of?Wikipedia: Shark
A tadpole turning into a frog is an example of what?Wikipedia: Metamorphosis
An adult bald eagle is not really bald. What color are the feathers on its head?Wikipedia: Bald eagle
Bats and dolphins find their way by making sounds and listening for the echoes. What is this called?Wikipedia: Animal echolocation
Coral reefs are built over many years by tiny animals. What are they called?Wikipedia: Coral
The dodo was a bird that could not fly and died out in the 1600s. On which island did it live?Wikipedia: Dodo
The front teeth of rats, squirrels and beavers are special. What do they never stop doing?Wikipedia: Rodent
How does an earthworm breathe?Wikipedia: Earthworm
How many arms do most starfish have?Wikipedia: Starfish
In the name Tyrannosaurus rex, what does the Latin word "rex" mean?Wikipedia: Tyrannosaurus
Jellyfish, worms and insects have no backbone. What are animals without a backbone called?Wikipedia: Invertebrate
Salmon hatch in rivers and then swim out to sea. Where do they go to lay their own eggs?Wikipedia: Salmon
Silk cloth is made from the cocoons of which animal?Wikipedia: Silk
Spiders, scorpions and ticks all belong to which group of animals?Wikipedia: Arachnid
Turtles spend much of their time in water. Where do tortoises live?Wikipedia: Tortoise
What do we call light that is made by a living thing, such as a firefly?Wikipedia: Bioluminescence
What do we call the natural home of an animal or plant?Wikipedia: Habitat
What does a woodpecker use to drill holes in tree trunks?Wikipedia: Woodpecker
What does the word "dinosaur" mean?Wikipedia: Dinosaur
What is it called when a snake sheds its old skin or a bird drops old feathers?Wikipedia: Moulting
What is it called when an animal's colors or patterns help it blend in with the things around it?Wikipedia: Camouflage
What is it called when animals travel a long way at the same time each year, often as the seasons change?Wikipedia: Animal migration
What is the hard outer covering of an insect or a crab called?Wikipedia: Exoskeleton
What is the main job of the queen bee in a hive?Wikipedia: Queen bee
When the very last animal of its kind dies, what do we say the species has become?Wikipedia: Extinction
Which group of animals feeds its babies with milk?Wikipedia: Mammal
Which is the only group of living animals that has feathers?Wikipedia: Feather
Wild chimpanzees shape twigs into tools and poke them into mounds to "fish" for which food?Wikipedia: Chimpanzee
The human body 30
About how big is a human heart?Wikipedia: Heart
Digestion begins in the mouth. Which liquid starts to break down your food there?Wikipedia: Saliva
Goose bumps happen when you are cold or scared. What makes each hair stand up?Wikipedia: Goose bumps
Hiccups begin with a sudden jerk of which muscle?Wikipedia: Hiccup
How many kidneys do most people have?Wikipedia: Kidney
How many lungs does a person have?Wikipedia: Lung
Olfaction is the scientific name for which sense?Wikipedia: Sense of smell
Sailors on long sea voyages once fell ill with scurvy. Which vitamin were they missing?Wikipedia: Scurvy
The tongue is made mostly of what?Wikipedia: Tongue
What are the tiny air sacs in the lungs called, where oxygen passes into the blood?Wikipedia: Pulmonary alveolus
What does a doctor use to listen to your heart and lungs?Wikipedia: Stethoscope
What does a vaccine teach your body to do?Wikipedia: Vaccine
What happens to the pupils of your eyes in bright light?Wikipedia: Pupil
What is the long bundle of nerves that runs down inside your backbone called?Wikipedia: Spinal cord
What is the thin skin inside your ear that shakes when sound hits it?Wikipedia: Eardrum
What kind of picture lets a doctor see the bones inside your body?Wikipedia: X-ray
When you breathe out, which waste gas leaves your body?Wikipedia: Breathing
When you feel your pulse at your wrist, what are you feeling?Wikipedia: Pulse
Which mineral, found in milk, yogurt and cheese, does your body use to build bone?Wikipedia: Calcium
Which of these is NOT one of the five traditional senses?Wikipedia: Sense
Which organ pumps blood around your body?Wikipedia: Heart
Which part of the inner ear is coiled like a snail shell and deals with hearing?Wikipedia: Cochlea
Which part of your body has a pattern of tiny ridges that no other person shares?Wikipedia: Fingerprint
Which sharp-edged teeth at the front of your mouth are made for cutting food?Wikipedia: Human tooth
Which strong acid does your stomach make to help digest food?Wikipedia: Gastric acid
Which tendon joins your calf muscles to your heel bone?Wikipedia: Achilles tendon
Why does your body sweat when you get hot?Wikipedia: Perspiration
You pull your hand away from something hot before you even think about it. What is this kind of fast, automatic action called?Wikipedia: Reflex
Your left lung is a little smaller than your right lung. Which organ does it make room for?Wikipedia: Lung
Your shoulder and your hip can move in almost any direction. What kind of joint are they?Wikipedia: Ball-and-socket joint
Space 30
About every four years we add an extra day to the calendar. What is that longer year called?Wikipedia: Leap year
After the Moon, which is the brightest natural object in the night sky?Wikipedia: Venus
Astronauts float inside the space station. Why?Wikipedia: Weightlessness
In 1610 an Italian scientist turned a telescope on Jupiter and found four moons. Who was he?Wikipedia: Galilean moons
In 1983, who became the first American woman to fly in space?Wikipedia: Sally Ride
The James Webb Space Telescope, launched in 2021, mainly sees which kind of light?Wikipedia: James Webb Space Telescope
The Moon always keeps the same face turned toward Earth. Why?Wikipedia: Moon
The Perseids are seen every August. What are they?Wikipedia: Perseids
Uranus and Neptune are not called gas giants. What kind of giant planet are they?Wikipedia: Ice giant
What are sunspots?Wikipedia: Sunspot
What are the glowing curtains of light seen in the sky near the North Pole called?Wikipedia: Aurora
What do we call a planet that orbits a star other than our Sun?Wikipedia: Exoplanet
What do we call the huge explosion of a star?Wikipedia: Supernova
What do we call the phase when the whole face of the Moon looks bright and round?Wikipedia: Full moon
What force holds the planets in their paths around the Sun?Wikipedia: Gravity
What gives Mars its red color?Wikipedia: Mars
What is a galaxy?Wikipedia: Galaxy
What is the name of the scientific idea that the universe began very hot and dense and has been spreading out ever since?Wikipedia: Big Bang
What is the study of stars, planets and everything else in space called?Wikipedia: Astronomy
What made most of the round craters on the Moon?Wikipedia: Impact crater
What mostly causes the tides in Earth's oceans?Wikipedia: Tide
What process deep inside the Sun makes its light and heat?Wikipedia: Sun
When Apollo 11 landed on the Moon, what was the name of its landing craft?Wikipedia: Apollo 11
Which constellation is named after a hunter and has a belt of three bright stars?Wikipedia: Orion (constellation)
Which icy moon of Jupiter is thought to hide an ocean of water under its frozen crust?Wikipedia: Europa (moon)
Which is the smallest planet in the solar system?Wikipedia: Mercury (planet)
Which moon of Jupiter has more active volcanoes than any other world in the solar system?Wikipedia: Io (moon)
Which planet is the second largest in the solar system, after Jupiter?Wikipedia: Saturn
Which rover landed on Mars in 2012 and is about the size of a car?Wikipedia: Curiosity (rover)
Which way does the tail of a comet point?Wikipedia: Comet
Weather 30
A sea breeze blows on sunny afternoons at the coast. Which way does it blow?Wikipedia: Sea breeze
Benjamin Franklin came up with a pointed metal rod for rooftops in 1749. What does it protect a building from?Wikipedia: Lightning rod
Bright spots of light that sometimes appear on each side of the Sun have an animal nickname. What is it?Wikipedia: Sun dog
How many categories are on the Saffir-Simpson scale that rates hurricanes by wind speed?Wikipedia: Saffir–Simpson scale
How many sides or arms does a typical snowflake have?Wikipedia: Snowflake
Hurricane, typhoon and cyclone are three names for the same kind of storm. What decides which name is used?Wikipedia: Tropical cyclone
In a storm, which reaches you first, the flash of lightning or the sound of its thunder?Wikipedia: Thunder
Water goes up into the air, falls as rain, runs to the sea and goes up again. What is this endless journey called?Wikipedia: Water cycle
What are clouds made of?Wikipedia: Cloud
What are the drops of water found on grass early in the morning called?Wikipedia: Dew
What are the hard balls or lumps of ice that fall from thunderclouds called?Wikipedia: Hail
What do we call a long spell with far too little rain?Wikipedia: Drought
What do we call a scientist who studies the weather?Wikipedia: Meteorology
What do weather forecasters send high into the air to measure pressure, temperature and humidity?Wikipedia: Weather balloon
What does a rain gauge measure?Wikipedia: Rain gauge
What is a fast-spinning funnel of air that reaches from a thundercloud to the ground?Wikipedia: Tornado
What is a monsoon?Wikipedia: Monsoon
What is fog?Wikipedia: Fog
What is the calm, clear center of a hurricane called?Wikipedia: Eye (cyclone)
What is the difference between weather and climate?Wikipedia: Climate
What is the greenhouse effect?Wikipedia: Greenhouse effect
Which instrument measures air pressure and helps to forecast the weather?Wikipedia: Barometer
Which instrument measures how fast the wind is blowing?Wikipedia: Anemometer
Which layer of gas, high in the stratosphere, soaks up most of the Sun's harmful ultraviolet rays?Wikipedia: Ozone layer
Which puffy white clouds with flat bases look like heaps of cotton?Wikipedia: Cumulus cloud
Which rooftop instrument turns to show the direction the wind is blowing from?Wikipedia: Weather vane
Which scale rates a tornado from EF0 to EF5 by the damage it does?Wikipedia: Enhanced Fujita scale
Which thin, wispy clouds form very high up and are made of ice crystals?Wikipedia: Cirrus cloud
Which towering cloud brings thunderstorms?Wikipedia: Cumulonimbus cloud
Why does the sky look blue on a clear day?Wikipedia: Diffuse sky radiation
Materials 30
The "lead" inside a pencil is not lead. What is it made of?Wikipedia: Pencil
A fire needs three things to burn: fuel, heat and which gas?Wikipedia: Fire triangle
Amber is a golden stone that sometimes holds ancient insects. What did amber start out as?Wikipedia: Amber
Bridges are built with small gaps in them. What do the gaps leave room for on hot days?Wikipedia: Thermal expansion
Bronze is made mainly by mixing copper with which other metal?Wikipedia: Bronze
Cork for bottle stoppers comes from which part of the cork oak tree?Wikipedia: Cork (material)
Cotton is a soft fiber that grows on what?Wikipedia: Cotton
Dry ice turns straight from a solid into a gas without melting first. What is this change called?Wikipedia: Dry ice
Graphite and diamond are both made of which one element?Wikipedia: Graphite
How many chasing arrows make up the recycling symbol?Wikipedia: Recycling symbol
Leather is made from what?Wikipedia: Leather
Lightning and the glowing gas in neon signs are examples of which state of matter?Wikipedia: Plasma (physics)
Most plastics are made from chemicals that come from what?Wikipedia: Plastic
Natural rubber starts as a milky white liquid called latex. Where does the latex come from?Wikipedia: Natural rubber
Solid and liquid are two of the common states of matter. Which of these is another?Wikipedia: State of matter
Steel is made mostly from which metal?Wikipedia: Steel
What do we call the rotting down of food scraps and garden waste into a rich, dark material for the soil?Wikipedia: Compost
What is it called when a solid turns into a liquid?Wikipedia: Melting
What is paper mostly made from today?Wikipedia: Paper
What is the main raw material used to make ordinary glass?Wikipedia: Sand
What is the reddish-brown flaky coating that forms on iron left out in the rain?Wikipedia: Rust
When you stir sugar into water and it seems to vanish, what has the sugar done?Wikipedia: Solution (chemistry)
Which gas, lighter than air, is used to fill party balloons so that they float?Wikipedia: Helium
Which light volcanic rock is so full of gas bubbles that it can float on water?Wikipedia: Pumice
Which metal, often used for roofs, slowly turns green when it is left out in the weather?Wikipedia: Copper
Which method separates sand from water by pouring the mix through paper with tiny holes?Wikipedia: Filtration
Which state of matter spreads out to fill any container you put it in?Wikipedia: Gas
Why are electrical wires coated in plastic or rubber?Wikipedia: Insulator (electricity)
Why does a block of wood float on water?Wikipedia: Density
Wool comes mainly from which animal?Wikipedia: Wool
How this list was compiled: Written for this site by the editors; nothing was copied from another list. Every question, wrong choice and explanation is our own wording. Each answer, and each extra fact in the line under it, was checked on 2026-09-19 against the English Wikipedia article (https://en.wikipedia.org) named and linked beside the question. The article text was fetched through the MediaWiki API on 2026-09-18 or 2026-09-19, and the sentence that states the fact was read before the question was kept. Questions were dropped or reworded when the article did not state the fact in plain words (the color of the hottest stars, how many times a day the space station circles the Earth, the temperature of dry ice). Left out on purpose: records and rankings that change, moon counts, populations, living people, and film, TV and brand names. No question repeats one in the site's general kids' trivia bank. Levels are an editor's judgment: easy suits ages 6 to 8, medium ages 8 to 10, hard ages 10 to 12. Licence: own work