Our kids are naturally curious creatures and they can absorb information like sponges. Keep them entertained with a little science fun! From odd bug phenomena to intriguing space data to fascinating aspects of the human body, check out these 25 interesting science facts for kids. Your lunch box notes just got nerdy!
1. Earth’s inner core is 10,832 degrees Fahrenheit, and its outer core is a mere 6,872 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Ten feet is the length of 3.35 lightsabers. It’s also the height of a stack of 16 “Harry Potter” books, a tower of 318 Lego bricks and a giraffe from its hooves to the bottom of its 6-foot-long neck.
3. One hundred pounds is the weight of: 412,375 bees, 5,465 party balloons and 1,600 human eyeballs. Want to know more? The Omni Calculator Project’s Weird Units Converter will provide you with oodles of entertainment! You can enter in various weights, heights, distances and then learn the equivalent of random objects.
4. Apollo 14 astronaut Alan Shepard played golf on the moon in 1971! He brought two golf balls and a golf club with him on the voyage. The club is now on display at the USGA Golf Museum and Library in Liberty Corner, New Jersey. The two golf balls are still on the moon.
5. Phosphorus is an element found in many rocks and minerals, as well as in bird and bat poop. And it smells like garlic.
6. The tripod fish (Bathypterois grallator) is a unique bottom feeder, which means it eats from the lower levels of its habitat, i.e., the ocean floor. The tripod fish has stiff rays at the end of its pelvic and tail fins, which it uses as stilts. It props itself up on the stilts facing the current, opens its mouth wide and eats whatever comes its way!
7. Scientists believe the Hercules beetle (Dynastes hercules) can lift up to 850 times its own weight. On average, a Hercules beetle weighs .28–0.30 pound, which, in theory, means this beetle could lift 255 pounds.
8. When a caterpillar attacks a tomato plant, the plant itself begins to produce a chemical called methyl jasmonate, which is toxic to caterpillars.
9. The electric catfish (Malapteruridae) has an organ that produces an electric force field, which will zap any predator that gets too close. The shock is enough to deter predators and kill smaller prey.
10. The human body contains almost 100 trillion cells.
11. The Great Lakes hold more than 20 percent of the world’s surface freshwater (approximately 5,400 cubic miles of water).
12. Ten miles is the distance covered by 22,352 footsteps. It’s also the length of 8,794 elephant trunks and 24,759 baguettes (yum!) lined up end to end.
13. Humans breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide. Plants take in carbon dioxide and convert it to oxygen.
14. A 40-year-old tree can store 1 ton of carbon dioxide — that’s the equivalent of two grand pianos or one very large walrus.
15. In her lifetime, a female sunfish (Mola mola) can lay as many as 300 million eggs.
16. The flowering plant titan arum (Amorphophallus titanum) can grow up to 12 feet tall. Though it only blooms every four or five years, that bloom smells like rotting meat (hence its nickname, the corpse flower).
17, Most scientists agree that dogs and humans have been hunting partners and companions for more than 14,000 years.
18. In one hour, your heart beats 3,600 times.
19. The resurrection fern (Pleopeltis polypodioides) can appear to come back to life: it can be completely dried out for as many as 100 years, but when watered, it will begin to grow again. (Zombie fern, anyone?)
20. Six million hours in the equivalent of 2.76 years on Pluto.
21. The large flying fox (Pteropus vampyrus) is the largest bat on Earth and has a wingspan of up to 5 feet. But don’t worry, these big fruit bats don’t drink blood; they prefer to drink flower nectar and eat fruits.
22. A rattlesnake’s fangs are actually hollow and inject the poison into their prey.
23. Nearly all mammals, including humans, have two sets of teeth during their lifetime: baby teeth and adult teeth. But reptiles can have many more sets: a crocodile can go through 50 sets of teeth and regrow 3,000 teeth!
24. Talc is the softest mineral in the world and can crumble in your hands. A diamond is the hardest mineral.
25. The ironclad beetle (Zopherus nodulosus haldemani) has an exoskeleton that is so tough, predators can’t even bite through it, and even after it has died, scientists need a drill to pierce the shell..
Want to learn more? Read these fun books:
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