Free Family Quiz Game About the Solar System

Hi, if your kids are bored, play this free family quiz game with them. It’ll keep them busy for a few minutes and keep their mind sharp.

For the quiz you will need:

• Some people to play, in fact, as many or as few as you like.
• Some pencils and pieces of (recycled) paper.
• And a quiz master….
• On the paper, get the participants to write the numbers 1- 10 with an extra line below marked ‘p’ for points. Something like this will do.

This is how the quiz works:

The quiz master asks each question. If anyone knows the answer straight away they write it down and mark 10 points in the line below and put their pencil down.

If anyone needs help with the answer, read out the the first letter of the answer. They write down the answer and 5 points in the line below and put the pencil down.

If anyone still needs help with the answer, read out the clue provided. They write down the answer and 3 points in the line below then put the pencil down.

And if anyone still needs help, read out the A, B, C, D multiple choice answers, this is the final clue. If they get it this time write down the answer and 1 point in the line below.

Read out the answer and see who was right, and how many points they received.

Here’s an example quiz question you can use it as a warm up or a bonus question or even a tie breaker:

Example Quiz Question:

For 10 points: Which planet is known as the red planet?
For 5 points: The first letter of its name is M
For 3 points: It’s also a chocolate bar.
And for 1 point: The multiple choice is…
A. Mars
B. Mercury
C. Venus
D. The Sun

Of Course, the answer is Mars, but I bet you knew that anyway. Now it’s on with the real quiz. We’ll Start with an easy quiz question…

Quiz Question 1

For 10 points: What is the name of our home star?
For 5 points: The 1st letter is S.
For 3 points: It’s goes up in the morning and down at night.
And for 1 point: The multiple choice is…
A. The Sun
B. Alpha Centauri
C. The Moon
D. Polaris

The answer is… The Sun! Well done if you got it! Make a note of the your points and on to the next quiz question.

Fun Fact: Alpha Centauri is the nearest star to Earth apart from the sun at just 4 light years away.

Quiz Question 2

For 10 points: What is the name of our home galaxy?
For 5 points: The 1st letter is M.
For 3 points: It sounds a bit like the stuff you pour on your breakfast cereal.
And for 1 point: The multiple choice is…
A. The Ice World Hoth
B. The Sombrero Galaxy
C. Andromeda
D. The Milky Way

The answer is… The Milky Way! Woo Hoo! If you got it! Make a note of your points and on to the next quiz question.

Fun Fact: The Sombrero Galaxy is real and yes it looks just like the Mexican hat!

Check out the Mexican Hat Galaxy and other cool galaxy NASA photos here.

Quiz Question 3

For 10 points: What is the nearest planet to Earth?
For 5 points: The 1st letter is V.
For 3 points: It is also a plant that catches flies.
And for 1 point: The multiple choice is…
A. Jupiter
B. Mars
C. Venus
D. Eternia

The answer is… Venus! Yay! Well done you if you got it! Make a note of your points and on to the next quiz question.

Fun fact: Venus is the only planet in the solar system to rotate the opposite way to all the others. Scientists say it could have suffered an enormous impact or a planetary collision at some point in its life.

Quiz Question 4

For 10 points: Who was the first man on the moon?
For 5 points: His initials are N and A.
For 3 points: He sounds like he has a strong arm!
And for 1 point: The multiple choice is…
A. Buzz Aldrin
B. Buzz Lightyear
C. Neil Armstrong
D. Louis Armstrong

The answer is… Neil Armstrong! Woah, out of this world! Well done you if you got it! Make a note of your points and it’s on to the next quiz question.

Have a look at some super cool moon images here.

Quiz Question 5

For 10 points: What is the largest planet in the solar system?
For 5 points: The 1st letter is J.
For 3 points: It has a big red spot.
And for 1 point: The multiple choice is…
A. Saturn
B. Neptune
C. Earth
D. Jupiter

The answer is… Jupiter! 5 questions gone and 5 to go. Well done you, if you got it! Make a note of your points and it’s on to the next quiz question.

Fun Fact: Jupiter has 67 known moons including Europa where it is possible there could be life in a liquid ocean, under thick ice. The great red spot on Jupiter is a huge storm that has been raging for at least 300 years.

Check out these cool photos of Jupiter from the Juno probe.

Quiz Question 6

For 10 points: What used to be the eighth planet from the sun but is now considered a dwarf planet?
For 5 points: The 1st letter is P.
For 3 points: It is also the name of a cartoon dog.
And for 1 point: The multiple choice is…
A. Mercury
B. Titan
C. Neptune
D. Pluto

The answer is… Pluto! Cosmic answer! Well done you if you got it. Make a note of your points and it’s on to the next quiz question.

Fun Fact: Pluto sits in a part of the solar system called the Kuiper Belt and it’s not alone, there are many icy bodies out there including Pluto’s moons Charon, Styx, Nix, Kerberos, and Hydra.

Have a look at these cool photos of Pluto taken by the New Horizons spacecraft. 

Quiz Question 7

For 10 points: What is the nearest Planet to the Sun?
For 5 points: The 1st letter is M.
For 3 points: It’s got the same name as the stuff inside a thermometer.
And for 1 point: The multiple choice is…
A. Mars
B. Mercury
C. Saturn
D. Neptune

The answer is… Mercury! That was a tough one! Well done you if you got it. Make a note of your points and it’s on to the next quiz question.

Quiz Question 8

For 10 points: Who was the first person in space?
For 5 points: His initials are Y and G.
For 3 points: He was a Russian. His first name was Yuri.
And for 1 point: The multiple choice is…
A. Yuri Gagarin
B. Flash Gordon
C. Buck Rodgers
D. Bruce Willis

The answer is… Yuri Gagarin! Stratospheric effort! Well done you if you got it. Make a note of your points and it’s on to the next quiz question.

Fun Fact: Yuri Gagarin is less well known than Neil Armstrong, but he was every bit as important to the human space effort. He completed the first orbit of the Earth on 12 April 1961. He boldly went where no one had gone before.

Check out some images of Yuri Gagarin and his ship here.

Quiz Question 9

For 10 points: What was the famous name of the series of the NASA moon mission craft?
For 5 points: The 1st letter is A.
For 3 points: There was a movie about the unlucky number 13.
And for 1 point: The multiple choice is…
A. Neptune
B. Pegasus
C. Enterprise
D. Apollo

The answer is… The Apollo missions! Astronomical effort! Well done you if you got it! Make a note of your points and it’s on to the next quiz question.

Quiz Question 10

For 10 points: What is the name of the seventh planet from the sun?
For 5 points: The 1st letter is U.
For 3 points: It sounds like someone’s bottom.
And for 1 point: The multiple choice is…
A. Neptune
B. Jupiter
C. Uranus
D. Saturn

The answer is… Uranus! (ha ha) Wow that’s it! Well done you if you got it! Make a note of your points and then it’s time to add them up.

If you scored:

• 75-100 This quiz is too easy for one as clever as you. I’ll have to make a more difficult quiz next time.
• 50-74 Hey, well done on the quiz, you’re sure to be a genius!
• 25-49 That was a tough quiz but well done to you. I’m sure you learned a lot and next time you’ll ace it.
• 0–24 This quiz is probably for older kids but I’m sure you’ll be able to do it soon. Well done for trying.

And next week, I will post a blog about things you might find in a Rockpool.