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Nature Riddles for Kids

These cover weather, plants, water and the sky, and most of them teach a real fact alongside the answer.

Good ones to use outdoors, or alongside a science lesson, because several can be checked by simply looking up.

I come after rain and I have seven colours. What am I?
A rainbowSunlight splits into colours as it passes through raindrops.
I am a river of ice that moves very slowly down a mountain. What am I?
A glacierGlaciers can move a few centimetres to a few metres a day.
I fall but never get hurt, and I cover everything in white. What am I?
SnowSnowflakes are ice crystals formed in cold clouds.
I am the largest plant on earth and I can live for thousands of years. What am I?
A treeSome bristlecone pines are over 4,000 years old.
I have roots nobody sees and I am taller than trees. Up I go and yet I never grow. What am I?
A mountainIts roots are the rock beneath it, and mountains rise over millions of years, not in a lifetime.
I light up the sky for a second and my sound comes later. What am I?
LightningLight travels far faster than sound, so thunder arrives after.
I turn towards the sun all day. What am I?
A sunflowerYoung sunflowers track the sun across the sky, a behaviour called heliotropism.
I am salty, I cover most of the earth, and I am never still. What am I?
The oceanOceans cover about 71 percent of the planet's surface.
I have no leaves, no roots and no flowers, but I grow in damp dark places. What am I?
A mushroomMushrooms are fungi, not plants, so they have none of these parts.
I fall from the sky as a liquid and rise from the ground as a gas. What am I?
WaterRain falls, then evaporates back into the air.
I have rings that tell you my age but I wear no jewellery. What am I?
A treeEach ring in the trunk is one year of growth.
I am a seed that becomes the tallest grass on earth. What am I?
BambooBamboo is a grass, and some kinds grow almost a metre a day.
I blow but have no mouth, and I move without legs. What am I?
The windIt is moving air, caused by differences in temperature and pressure.
I hold up the whole forest but I stay underground. What am I?
RootsThey anchor trees and carry water up from the soil.
I appear at night, change my shape each week, and pull the sea. What am I?
The moonIts phases change through the month and its gravity causes tides.

Questions about Nature Riddles for Kids

Do these riddles teach real science?

Yes. Several contain accurate facts, including that bamboo is a grass, that mushrooms are fungi rather than plants, and that tree rings show a tree's age.

What age are nature riddles best for?

Ages six to eleven, and they work particularly well alongside a school topic on plants, weather or the water cycle.

Why does thunder come after lightning?

Light travels roughly a million times faster than sound, so you see the flash almost instantly and hear the thunder afterwards.

How can I use these outside?

Ask them on a walk and let the child find the answer in front of them. A riddle answered by looking at a real tree is remembered far longer.

More from Riddles

Try a different kind of story

Keep going with all riddles, or look through the whole collection, sorted by section to find something else. You can also browse by reading level.