What is the International Space Station made of? Try our kids’ quiz

1. Sophie, 6, asks: what is the International Space Station made of?

   1. It’s made of coffee cups, string, sticky tape, plastic and straws

   2. Stars and pieces of space dust

   3. Fairy magic and glitter

   4. Lightweight metals – and it’s wrapped in a blanket

2. Eddie, 7, asks: did any English kings eat their dinner plates?

   1. Not as far as we know!

   2. Yes, if you’re a king in England you eat your plate after finishing your meal

   3. The only one who ate his dinner plate was Henry VIII

   4. No, but Prince William often takes a bite out of his when he’s super hungry

3. Joey, 8, asks: was candy floss really invented by a dentist?

   1. No, of course not – sugar is bad for your teeth

   2. No, candy floss was invented by Willy Wonka

   3. Yes, a dentist and a sweet maker invented it

   4. Candy floss was invented by Charles Dickens

4. Molly, 7, asks: do hummingbirds lick nectar?

   1. No, they suck nectar using their beaks

   2. Yes, hummingbirds lick nectar from flowers 10 to 15 times a second to eat it

   3. Yes – they lick nectar very slowly, in long slurps

   4. No, they eat with a spoon

5. Deniz, 5, asks: what are marshmallows made of?

   1. They’re made of soft mushrooms collected in marshes at midnight

   2. They’re made of mallow, a kind of sweet seaweed

   3. They’re made of cloud mixed with sugar

   4. They’re mainly made of sugar, corn syrup, gelatin, vanilla and air

Solutions

1:D - The ISS is made of lightweight metals including aluminium and stainless steel, and is wrapped in a blanket of Kevlar and other hi-tech fabric. Kevlar, also used to make bulletproof vests, shields the humans inside from things floating in space, like bits of satellite and tiny meteoroids. The blanket also stops the ISS getting super hot or super cold in space., 2:A - As far as we know, English kings don’t eat their dinner plates. Though Henry VIII did eat a lot – even peacocks and swans., 3:C - A dentist named William Morrison made the first cotton candy, or candy floss, in 1897 with the help of a sweet maker. It’s got lots of sugar, but eating it occasionally is OK. The dentist called it “fairy floss”., 4:B - Hummingbird beaks aren’t used like a straw; the birds lap up nectar with their tongues super quickly when they feed., 5:D - Marshmallows are mainly sugar, syrup, vanilla, air and a jelly-like substance called gelatin. You can make them with a grownup – you’ll need eggs, sugar and a few other things depending on the recipe you choose.

Scores

1. 5 and above.

2. 4 and above.

3. 3 and above.

4. 2 and above.

5. 0 and above.

6. 1 and above.

Molly Oldfield hosts Everything Under the Sun, a podcast answering children’s questions. Do check out her books, Everything Under the Sun and the new Everything Under the Sun: Quiz Book.