Rainy school holiday afternoons have a way of turning into “I’m bored” by about 10:30am. A quiz is one of the few things that fixes it without a screen, a trip to the shops, or a bag of lollies. [Add your own story here: when you last ran a quiz with kids, who won, what question caused the biggest argument.]
This list has 150 questions in 15 rounds of 10. They’re pitched at roughly ages 6 to 12, so the younger ones can get a few right and the older ones still have to think. I’ve tried to skip the dull “what colour is the sky” stuff and lean on things kids actually like repeating at dinner: weird animals, space, wombat poo, and the odd Aussie curveball.
How to Use It
- Read the question out loud, then give everyone a few seconds. Whispering with a teammate is allowed.
- Let little ones answer in teams with a bigger kid or grown-up.
- Each round is short, so you can play one or two as a car-ride filler instead of doing all 150 in one go.
- Want something shorter or for older players? Our general knowledge quiz is a good step up, and the Friday quiz suits the whole family.
On to the questions.
Round 1: Wild and Weird Animals
- What is the only mammal that can truly fly? Answer: The bat
- How many hearts does an octopus have? Answer: Three
- What is a baby kangaroo called? Answer: A joey
- What is a group of fish called? Answer: A school (or a shoal)
- What colour is a polar bear’s skin under its white-looking fur? Answer: Black
- How many legs does a spider have? Answer: Eight
- Which bird cannot fly but can run faster than any other bird? Answer: The ostrich
- What do koalas mostly eat? Answer: Eucalyptus (gum) leaves
- What is a group of lions called? Answer: A pride
- Which Australian animal has fingerprints so similar to a human’s that they are very hard to tell apart? Answer: The koala
Round 2: Space
- Which planet is closest to the Sun? Answer: Mercury
- What is the name of the galaxy our solar system is in? Answer: The Milky Way
- Which planet is famous for its big, bright rings? Answer: Saturn
- What do we call the big rock that circles the Earth? Answer: The Moon
- Which planet is known as the Red Planet? Answer: Mars
- Who was the first person to walk on the Moon? Answer: Neil Armstrong (in 1969)
- How many planets are in our solar system? Answer: Eight
- What is the star at the centre of our solar system? Answer: The Sun
- Which is the biggest planet in our solar system? Answer: Jupiter
- About how long does sunlight take to travel to Earth? Answer: About eight minutes
Round 3: Aussie Know-How
- What is the capital city of Australia? Answer: Canberra
- Which two animals appear together on the Australian coat of arms? Answer: The kangaroo and the emu
- What is the name of the giant red rock in the Northern Territory? Answer: Uluru
- Which Australian city is the Sydney Opera House in? Answer: Sydney (trick question, kind of)
- What is Australia’s national floral emblem? Answer: The golden wattle
- What is the biggest coral reef system in the world? Answer: The Great Barrier Reef
- What is a “billabong”? Answer: A waterhole or small pond left behind by a river
- Which Australian animal is a mammal but lays eggs? Answer: The platypus (the echidna does too)
- How many states does Australia have? Answer: Six
- What breed of dog is Bluey? Answer: An Australian Cattle Dog (also called a Blue Heeler)
Round 4: Your Amazing Body
- How many bones does an adult human have? Answer: 206
- Which organ pumps blood around your body? Answer: The heart
- What is the biggest organ on your body? Answer: Your skin
- How many teeth does a grown-up usually have, including wisdom teeth? Answer: 32
- Which bone protects your brain? Answer: The skull
- What is the proper name of the bone in your upper arm, which sounds like a joke? Answer: The humerus
- How many senses do we traditionally say people have? Answer: Five (sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch)
- What is the hardest substance in the human body? Answer: Tooth enamel
- What is the coloured part of your eye called? Answer: The iris
- Which gas do you breathe in that your body needs to survive? Answer: Oxygen
Round 5: Around the World
- What is the biggest ocean on Earth? Answer: The Pacific Ocean
- Which continent is Egypt in? Answer: Africa
- Which country is home to the Great Wall? Answer: China
- What is the tallest mountain above sea level? Answer: Mount Everest
- Which country is shaped like a boot? Answer: Italy
- What is the capital of France? Answer: Paris
- What is the smallest continent? Answer: Australia (also called Oceania)
- Which continent is the coldest? Answer: Antarctica
- What is the capital of Japan? Answer: Tokyo
- What is the largest hot desert in the world? Answer: The Sahara
Round 6: Science and Nature
- What is the chemical symbol for water? Answer: H2O
- Which gas do plants take in from the air to make their food? Answer: Carbon dioxide
- What do we call frozen water? Answer: Ice
- Which invisible force keeps your feet on the ground? Answer: Gravity
- How many colours are in a rainbow? Answer: Seven
- What is a baby frog called? Answer: A tadpole
- Which light gas, used in party balloons, makes them float? Answer: Helium
- What is the hardest natural material on Earth? Answer: Diamond
- What does a caterpillar turn into? Answer: A butterfly or a moth
- Is a whale a fish or a mammal? Answer: A mammal
Round 7: Food and Drink
- Which fruit is dried to make raisins? Answer: Grapes
- Which vegetable makes you cry when you chop it? Answer: An onion
- What is the main ingredient in guacamole? Answer: Avocado
- Which country does pizza come from? Answer: Italy
- Which fruit has its seeds on the outside? Answer: The strawberry
- What is the name of the famous Aussie spread made from yeast extract? Answer: Vegemite
- What is sushi traditionally wrapped in? Answer: Seaweed (called nori)
- Which nut is used to make marzipan? Answer: Almonds
- Which famous Aussie chocolate biscuit is named after a racehorse? Answer: The Tim Tam
- The pasta shape “farfalle” looks like bow ties. What does the word mean in Italian? Answer: Butterflies
Round 8: Books, Movies and TV
- What is the name of the boy wizard with a lightning scar? Answer: Harry Potter
- Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? Answer: SpongeBob SquarePants
- What is the name of the lion cub in The Lion King? Answer: Simba
- Who wrote The Cat in the Hat? Answer: Dr. Seuss
- Which princess has very long, magical hair? Answer: Rapunzel
- What is the name of the cowboy toy in Toy Story? Answer: Woody
- What is the name of the snowman in Frozen? Answer: Olaf
- What colour is Winnie the Pooh’s shirt? Answer: Red
- Who wrote Charlie and the Chocolate Factory? Answer: Roald Dahl
- What is the name of Bluey’s little sister? Answer: Bingo
Round 9: Sports and Games
- How many players from one team are on the pitch in a soccer match? Answer: Eleven
- Which sport uses a shuttlecock? Answer: Badminton
- How many rings are on the Olympic flag? Answer: Five
- In which sport do you score a “try”? Answer: Rugby
- How often are the Summer Olympic Games held? Answer: Every four years
- What colour is the very middle of an archery target? Answer: Gold (yellow)
- How many squares are on a chessboard? Answer: 64
- Which sport did Australian champion Ash Barty play? Answer: Tennis
- In which sport do you do a “slam dunk”? Answer: Basketball
- Which Aussie sport is played on an oval with an oval-shaped ball and four goal posts at each end? Answer: Australian rules football (AFL)
Round 10: Numbers and Shapes
- How many sides does a hexagon have? Answer: Six
- What is 12 x 12? Answer: 144
- How many minutes are in an hour? Answer: 60
- What number comes next: 2, 4, 8, 16, …? Answer: 32
- How many days are in a leap year? Answer: 366
- What is half of a quarter? Answer: One eighth
- How many zeros are in the number one million? Answer: Six
- What is a shape with five sides called? Answer: A pentagon
- What is 100 divided by 4? Answer: 25
- What number does the Roman numeral X stand for? Answer: Ten
Round 11: History and Inventions
- Which inventor is most often credited with creating the first practical light bulb? Answer: Thomas Edison
- Which ancient people built the pyramids of Giza? Answer: The ancient Egyptians
- Which famous ship sank in 1912 after hitting an iceberg? Answer: The Titanic
- What did the Wright brothers famously invent and fly in 1903? Answer: The first powered aeroplane
- Which country did Cleopatra rule? Answer: Egypt
- Which scientist is said to have started thinking about gravity after watching an apple fall? Answer: Isaac Newton
- What language did the ancient Romans speak? Answer: Latin
- In which year did the Great Fire of London happen? Answer: 1666
- Scientists at Australia’s CSIRO helped create a key technology that most of us use at home every day to get online without a cable. What is it? Answer: Wi-Fi (their radio technology is part of the standards behind it)
- Who painted the Mona Lisa? Answer: Leonardo da Vinci
Round 12: Words and Riddles
- What do you call words that sound the same but are spelled differently, like “there” and “their”? Answer: Homophones
- How many letters are in the English alphabet? Answer: 26
- What is the opposite of “ancient”? Answer: Modern
- Riddle: What has hands but cannot clap? Answer: A clock
- Riddle: What has keys but cannot open a lock? Answer: A piano (or a keyboard)
- Riddle: What gets wetter the more it dries? Answer: A towel
- Riddle: Which word is always spelled wrong? Answer: “Wrong”
- Riddle: What starts with an E, ends with an E, but only contains one letter? Answer: An envelope
- What is the plural of “mouse”? Answer: Mice
- What do we call a word that means the opposite of another word? Answer: An antonym
Round 13: Music and Art
- How many strings does a violin have? Answer: Four
- What are the three primary colours in traditional painting? Answer: Red, yellow and blue
- Which colour do you make by mixing red and white? Answer: Pink
- Which instrument has black and white keys? Answer: The piano
- The didgeridoo comes from which part of Australia, traditionally played by Aboriginal people? Answer: Northern Australia
- Who painted “The Starry Night”? Answer: Vincent van Gogh
- Which colour do you get when you mix blue and yellow? Answer: Green
- What do you call singing with no instruments? Answer: A cappella
- What does an orchestra conductor wave to keep the musicians together? Answer: A baton
- Which is bigger, a violin or a cello? Answer: A cello
Round 14: Records and Big Numbers
- What is the tallest building in the world right now? Answer: The Burj Khalifa in Dubai (828 metres)
- What is the fastest land animal? Answer: The cheetah
- What is the biggest animal that has ever lived on Earth? Answer: The blue whale
- What is the smallest bird in the world? Answer: The bee hummingbird
- Which big farm animal can sleep standing up? Answer: The horse
- Which country is the biggest in the world by area? Answer: Russia
- What is the largest land animal? Answer: The African elephant
- How long does it take the Earth to travel once around the Sun? Answer: One year
- Which planet is the hottest in our solar system? Answer: Venus
- Which animal has one of the longest pregnancies, lasting about 22 months? Answer: The elephant
Round 15: True or False Lightning Round
- True or false: goldfish only have a three-second memory. Answer: False. They can remember things for months.
- True or false: sharks are mammals. Answer: False. They are fish.
- True or false: a banana is technically a berry. Answer: True
- True or false: lightning never strikes the same place twice. Answer: False. Tall buildings get hit many times.
- True or false: humans only use 10 per cent of their brains. Answer: False. We use all of it.
- True or false: a tomato is a fruit. Answer: True
- True or false: wombat poo is shaped like little cubes. Answer: True
- True or false: you can see the Great Wall of China from space with your bare eyes. Answer: False
- True or false: an octopus has blue blood. Answer: True
- True or false: honey can stay edible for a very, very long time. Answer: True, as long as it’s sealed and kept dry.
That’s 150. If the kids want a rematch, or you’d rather swap the questions around for a different crowd, there’s plenty more in our trivia section, including the summer quiz. And if the quiz is just the warm-up and you need something to do afterwards, have a look at our school holiday ideas.
If you want to read more about the Wi-Fi question, the Australian Museum has a short write-up on the CSIRO team that worked on it.