How to play in the car
- A grown-up or an older kid is the quizmaster and reads the questions.
- Ask each player a question from their level, taking turns.
- A right answer is a point. Read the answer out loud either way: the facts are half the fun.
- Crossing into a new state? Ask a question about that state.
Rookie questions (about 5 to 7)
- Which state is the biggest?
Answer
Alaska. It's more than twice the size of Texas.
- Which state is made up entirely of islands?
Answer
Hawaii.
- Which state is the smallest?
Answer
Rhode Island. You can drive across it in under an hour.
- How many states are in the United States?
Answer
50, plus Washington, D.C.
- Which state has more pigs than people?
Answer
Iowa. Many more pigs!
- Which city is nicknamed "Music City"?
Answer
Nashville, Tennessee.
- Which state grows the most apples?
Answer
Washington.
- Which state is called the "Land of 10,000 Lakes"?
Answer
Minnesota, and it really has more than 11,000.
- In which state are four presidents carved into a mountain?
Answer
South Dakota, at Mount Rushmore.
- Which state makes the most maple syrup?
Answer
Vermont.
- Which state makes the most cheese?
Answer
Wisconsin.
- Which country gave the Statue of Liberty to the United States?
Answer
France.
Explorer questions (about 8 to 10)
- Where did the Wright brothers make the first airplane flight?
Answer
Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, in 1903.
- What is the deepest lake in the United States?
Answer
Crater Lake, in Oregon.
- Which state touches four of the five Great Lakes?
Answer
Michigan.
- Which state's name has just one syllable?
Answer
Maine.
- In which state can you dig for real diamonds and keep what you find?
Answer
Arkansas, at Crater of Diamonds State Park.
- What is the tallest arch in the world?
Answer
The Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri.
- Which state grows the most peanuts?
Answer
Georgia.
- In which state was Kool-Aid invented?
Answer
Nebraska, in the town of Hastings.
- Which state capital is a mile above sea level?
Answer
Denver, Colorado. One step at the capitol is marked at exactly one mile.
- Which state was its own country for almost 10 years?
Answer
Texas, as the Republic of Texas.
- The world's first national park is mostly in which state?
Answer
Wyoming. It's Yellowstone.
- Which is the driest state?
Answer
Nevada.
- What is New Mexico's official state question?
Answer
"Red or green?" It's asking which chile you want.
- Which state has parishes instead of counties?
Answer
Louisiana.
Trailblazer questions (11 and up)
- Which state was the first to approve the U.S. Constitution?
Answer
Delaware, which is why it's called "The First State."
- In which state were the most U.S. presidents born?
Answer
Virginia, with eight. Ohio is next, with seven.
- The first nuclear-powered submarine was built in which state?
Answer
Connecticut. The USS Nautilus is open for tours today.
- "The Star-Spangled Banner" was written about a battle at which fort?
Answer
Fort McHenry, in Baltimore, Maryland.
- Where in the United States do people drive on the left?
Answer
The U.S. Virgin Islands.
- Which U.S. territory is south of the equator?
Answer
American Samoa.
- Which city built the rockets that took astronauts to the Moon?
Answer
Huntsville, Alabama, nicknamed "Rocket City."
- Which is the only state completely inside the Appalachian Mountains?
Answer
West Virginia.
- Which state prints its motto, "Live Free or Die," on its license plates?
Answer
New Hampshire.
- The center of the lower 48 states is near which small town?
Answer
Lebanon, Kansas.
- The name "Texas" comes from a Caddo word. What does it mean?
Answer
Friend.
- Millions of monarch butterflies spend the winter in which Mexican state?
Answer
Michoacán.
Tricky state capitals
These capitals aren't the state's biggest or best-known city, so they catch out grown-ups too.
- What is the capital of New York?
Answer
Albany.
- What is the capital of California?
Answer
Sacramento.
- What is the capital of Illinois?
Answer
Springfield.
- What is the capital of Florida?
Answer
Tallahassee.
- What is the capital of Texas?
Answer
Austin.
- What is the capital of Pennsylvania?
Answer
Harrisburg.
- What is the capital of Washington?
Answer
Olympia.
- What is the capital of Nevada?
Answer
Carson City.
- What is the capital of Kentucky?
Answer
Frankfort.
- What is the capital of South Dakota?
Answer
Pierre.
Questions
What are good trivia questions for a road trip?
Questions about the places you're driving through: state capitals, what each state is famous for, and records like the biggest, smallest or driest state. Ask about each new state as you cross into it.
How do you play trivia with kids of different ages?
Give each player questions at their own level, so a 6-year-old gets "Which state is the biggest?" while a 12-year-old gets "Which state was the first to approve the Constitution?" Everyone has a fair shot at winning.
Is there a road trip trivia app for kids?
RoadTripKit's Trivia Showdown asks everyone at once on their own device, each at their own level (Rookie, Explorer or Trailblazer), with a round about every state you drive into. It plays built-in questions in any browser, and the iPhone app writes fresh questions for each state.