50 Fun Facts About February Trivia for Kids

How many days does February have in a normal, non-leap year?

It is the shortest month of the year.

Every four years, February gets one extra day. What is that day called?

February 29 only comes around in a leap year.

February is named after 'Februa', a Roman festival of what?

It was a time for cleaning and making a fresh start in late winter.

Groundhog Day is celebrated on February 2. What is the groundhog looking for?

If it sees its shadow, folklore says there will be six more weeks of winter.

The most famous Groundhog Day groundhog is named Punxsutawney Phil, from which US state?

Crowds gather every February 2 to see whether Phil sees his shadow.

Valentine's Day, a day for cards and hearts, falls on which date?

People give cards and gifts to show they care.

Which winged figure, often shown with a bow and arrow, is a symbol of Valentine's Day?

In Roman myth he was the son of Venus, the goddess of love.

Presidents' Day, on the third Monday of February, officially celebrates the birthday of which president?

He was the very first president of the United States.

February's birthstone is the amethyst, which is usually what colour?

Ancient Greeks believed it could keep them from getting drunk.

February is a big month for which American football championship game?

It is the final game of the NFL season, famous for its halftime show.

Abraham Lincoln, born in February 1809, appears on which two pieces of US money?

He was the 16th president and grew his famous beard on the advice of an 11-year-old girl.

Charles Darwin, born in February 1809, is famous for his ideas about how living things do what over time?

He gathered many of his ideas while sailing on a ship called the Beagle.

Galileo Galilei, born in February 1564, used an improved version of which instrument to study the sky?

He spotted four of Jupiter's moons and the craters of our own Moon.

Black History Month is celebrated in the United States during which month?

It honours the achievements of Black Americans throughout history.

Civil rights hero Rosa Parks is remembered for refusing to give up her seat on what?

Her brave act in 1955 helped spark the Montgomery bus boycott.

In Japan's February Setsubun custom, people throw what to chase away bad luck?

They shout to send the demons out and welcome good fortune in.

Waitangi Day, on February 6, is the national day of which country?

It marks the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840.

Penguins, birds many people picture in the cold, live almost entirely in which half of the world?

The biggest kind is the emperor penguin.

Mount Rushmore shows the giant carved faces of how many US presidents?

They are Washington, Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Lincoln.

February is the last month of winter in the north. In the south, it is the last month of which season?

The seasons swap over between the two halves of the world.

Thomas Edison, born February 11, 1847, is most famous for improving which invention?

Edison registered 1,093 US patents, and his company later merged into General Electric, which still exists today.

Michael Jordan, born February 17, 1963, won six NBA championships with which team?

Jordan was actually born in Brooklyn, New York, and even took a break from basketball in 1994 to play minor league baseball.

At Chinese New Year, often in February, kids get gift money in envelopes of what colour?

Families also clean their houses top to bottom before the holiday to sweep away bad luck and make room for good fortune.

The faraway world found on February 18, 1930, and now called a dwarf planet, is which one?

It has five known moons, and the biggest, Charon, is more than half its size. New Horizons finally flew past it in 2015.

Susan B. Anthony, born February 15, 1820, fought for women's right to do what?

She collected anti-slavery petitions at just 17 years old. Google marked her 200th birthday in 2020 with a special Doodle.

Laura Ingalls Wilder, born February 7, 1867, wrote which series of children's books?

The stories were based on her real childhood in a pioneer family. She died in 1957, just three days after turning 90.

Jules Verne, born February 8, 1828, wrote Around the World in how many days?

Verne also imagined a trip to the Moon and a journey to the centre of the Earth, long before anyone could actually do them.

In the famous 1925 serum run, sled dogs rushed medicine to Nome, a town in which state?

Twenty mushers and about 150 dogs relayed the medicine 674 miles in five and a half days. A dog named Togo ran the longest, most dangerous stretch.

The 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo took place in which country?

The 2030 Games are planned for the French Alps. The Winter Games moved to their own four-year cycle after 1992, which is why 1994 followed so quickly.

Nicolaus Copernicus, born February 19, 1473, said what sits at the centre of everything?

His big book was published just before he died in 1543, and it kicked off what scientists call the Copernican Revolution.

The first Pokémon games, released in Japan on February 27, 1996, ran on which handheld?

In Japan they were called Pocket Monsters Red and Green. The release was delayed because the toys and other tie-in products weren't ready yet.

If Punxsutawney Phil predicts more winter on February 2, how much longer should it last?

The custom comes from an old German tradition tied to Candlemas. Phil even flew to Chicago in 1995 to appear on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

Mardi Gras, the party day that often lands in February, is French for what?

It is the last day to eat rich, fatty foods before Lent begins on Ash Wednesday. In Mobile, Alabama, the celebrations start as early as November.

The 'Miracle on Ice' on February 22, 1980 was a US upset of the Soviets in which sport?

The Americans were college players, and the Soviets had crushed them 10-3 in an exhibition game just 13 days earlier. The US won 4-3 at Lake Placid.

Chinese New Year celebrations end 15 days later with a glowing night named for what?

The Lantern Festival falls on the 15th night of the lunar year, usually in February or early March, and dates back over 2,000 years to the Han dynasty.

In 2025, the Boy Scouts of America, founded on February 8, 1910, changed its name to what?

The name officially took effect on February 8, 2025, the group's 115th birthday. Girls have been able to join its flagship program since 2019.

Nelson Mandela walked free on February 11, 1990 after how many years in prison?

He held his wife Winnie's hand in front of the cameras as he left, and the moment was broadcast live around the world. Four years later he was president.

The first Winter Olympics were held in 1924 in the town of Chamonix, in which country?

Only five sports were on the programme back then, including curling, bobsleigh and skating.

On February 20, 1962, John Glenn first orbited Earth for the US in a capsule named what?

Glenn circled the planet three times. In 1998, at age 77, he flew into space again aboard the Space Shuttle.

Because it is so short, February is the only month that can go by without a single what?

It last happened in 2018 and will happen again in 2037. February can also sometimes be exactly four full weeks, as it was in 2021.

Frederick Douglass chose February 14 as his birthday since his mother called him her what?

Born into slavery, he never knew his real birth date. He went on to become a famous speaker, writer and leader for civil rights.

Legend says Saint Valentine restored the sight of a blind girl who was whose daughter?

A later addition to the story says he wrote her a farewell letter signed 'Your Valentine', which is where the phrase on cards comes from.

Canada's maple leaf flag first flew on February 15, 1965. How many points has the leaf?

February 15 is now National Flag of Canada Day. The flag is a red field with a white square in the middle in a 1:2:1 ratio.

Which of these years did NOT get a February 29, even though it is divisible by four?

Years ending in 00 only count if they also divide by 400. That little rule keeps the calendar lined up with the seasons.

Baseball great Babe Ruth, born February 6, 1895, went by which royal-sounding nickname?

He was also called 'the Bambino'. Ruth started out as a star pitcher for the Boston Red Sox before becoming a slugger for the Yankees.

In February 1925, sled dogs like Balto raced medicine to Nome to fight which disease?

Balto led the last stretch into town and became so famous that his statue stands in New York's Central Park.

On Groundhog Day, Punxsutawney Phil makes his prediction from a spot with what name?

It sits about two miles southeast of town. Phil supposedly tells the club president his forecast in a language called 'Groundhogese'.

The Old English name for February, Solmonath, means what?

Other languages are just as vivid: in Finnish it is helmikuu, 'month of the pearl', for the frozen droplets that form on tree branches.

The first Black History Month celebration was held in 1970 at which school?

It grew out of Negro History Week, started in 1926, which was placed in the second week of February to cover the birthdays of Lincoln and Douglass.

Which legendary king of Rome is said to have added January and February to the calendar?

Before that, the Romans treated winter as a monthless gap in the year. February stayed the last month of the year until around 450 BC.