Bus Trivia Questions

If you have a LONG bus ride to summer camp, here are tons of ideas to help fill the time. Another fun bus activity is to simply play BUS TRIVIA.

Below are 10 things I usually do when we play on trips:

1. Give prizes! They go a long way to giving kids buy-in when playing the game. Offer a milkshake at the next food stop for the first place winner.
2. In order to buzz in, contestants must yell their first name. This is also a good way to learn kids names if you don’t know everyone on the bus! If there’s a tie or it’s confusing as to who buzzed in first, have them play Rock-Paper-Scissors to see who gets to answer.
3. If you’re at the front of the bus on the microphone, it gives an advantage to kids sitting near the front so I usually ask the kids that want to play to move closer to the front or station another leader near the middle in the aisle so they can help me judge who buzzed in first.
4. Let the leader standing in the aisle also be your score keeper, writing down kids names when they get a question right or wrong.
5. Each question is worth 1 million points. It’s the exact same as each question being worth one point, just funnier.
6. Wrong answers are NEGATIVE 1 million points and as soon as a wrong answer is stated, anyone else can buzz in by yelling their name.
7. Have 4 different rounds and increase the point values each time like below. It’s annoying to the kids who already have points, but it’s funny and makes kids want to keep playing. If you have a REALLY long ride, break up the 4 rounds into different parts of the trip. “Always leave kids wanting more.”
• Round 1 – 1 million
• Round 2 – 2 million
• Round 3 – 5 million
• Round 4 – 10 million
8. We’re YL leaders, so naturally we run Bus Trivia as a skit character. Yes, it’s more work, and you’re tired of being on the bus, but OH BOY, it’s fun. Just go to the bus bathroom and put on a wig and sunglasses and have someone at the front play Tom Jones’ “It’s Not Unusual” as your theme music and then walk down the aisle as ‘Mr. Good Times,’ because ‘It’s always a good time, with Mr. Good Times.“
9. No phones allowed when answering questions!
10. Finally, get the bus driver involved and let him ask a couple questions. The kids love it!

Hope it goes well!

–Drew Hill

50 Trivia Questions For Bus Trivia

Download the questions here.

1. Name a state that is only 1 syllable? Maine
2. Who invented the printing press? Gutenberg
3. Name an actual word in the dictionary that rhymes with any of the following words: month, orange, silver, or purple. There is none.
4. Within 25 years, when was the 1st American Thanksgiving? 1621
5. In Roman mythology, Neptune is the equivalent to which Greek god? Poseidon
6. How many different ways are there to make change for a dollar bill, over 200 or under 200? 293
7. Name the only rock that floats. Pumice
8. What famous childhood cartoon was based on 3 girls with super powers? Powerpuff Girls
9. Name all 7 continents in alphabetical order. Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America 
10. What is the name of the vicious tree that Harry and Ron drove into in ‘Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets’? The whomping willow
11. What are the little people called in Willy Wonka? Oompa Loopas
12. How many animals of each kind did Moses take on the ark? (Trick question- none, Noah took 2 of each kind, Moses didn’t take any)
13. Who discovered Bieber? Usher
14. How long (within 1 minute) does it take light from the sun to reach the earth? Approximately 8 minutes and 18 seconds.
15. Name an actual word that ends with the letters “mt.” Hint: Martin Luther King did it: dreamt
16. What jewelry accessory store is organized by color? Charming Charlies
17. How many NFL teams are in the state of NY- name them all- Jets, Giants, Buffalo Bills
18. What does “G.I.” in G.I. Joe stand for? Government Issued
19. What is the smallest country in the world? Vatican City Population, total population 1,000.
20. What tree gives us prunes? The plum tree.
21. Where is the Suez Canal? Egypt
22. What does “CPR” stand for in medical emergencies? Cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
23. Which Ranks highest in a game of Texas Hold ‘Em? A. 3 of a kind, B. Straight, C. Full House, D. Flush? Full House
24. What is a cummerbund? A tuxedo belt
25. Name 5 of the 6 men pictured on our dollar bills, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50?
• 1- George Washington
• 2- Thomas Jefferson
• 5- Abraham Lincoln
• 10-Alexander Hamilton
• 20-Andrew Jackson
• 50- Ulysses S. Grant
26. What guitarist is known as slow hand? Eric Clapton
27. Who invented cotton gin? Eli Whitney
28. What is a flat image that can be displayed in three dimensions, it starts with an H? Hologram
29. In a wedding, what is a MOH? Maid of Honor
30. What caused Ray Charles to lose his sight? Glaucoma
31. What instrument do you use when you check the oil in your car? dipstick
32. What singer was dread and dead on May 11, 1981? Bob Marley
33. What’s the opening line of the book Moby Dick? “Call me Ishmael.”
34. What key does the American car horn beep in? Key of F
35. What was the first product to have a bar code? Hint: Chicago Cubs. Wrigley’s Gum (Cubs play at Wrigley Stadium)
36. Who were the 2 quarterbacks in the most recent Super Bowl?
37. In a deck of cards, what is the only King without a mustache? King of Hearts
38. What planet rotates clockwise? Venus
39. It was quite fitting that the first CD pressed in the United States was by ‘the boss.’ What was it? “Born in the USA” by Bruce Springsteen
40. What are the plastic things called on the end of shoelaces? Aglets
41. Who is Barbara Millicent Roberts? Barbie doll- that’s her full name.
42. What fluid is stored in a gall-bladder? bile
43. Looking at earth from outer space, what is the brightest man-made place? Las Vegas
44. What candy did Forrest Mars and Bruce Murrie invent? M&Ms
45. Name a sound that doesn’t echo? A duck’s quack
46. What does WD in WD-40 stand for? Water Displacer
47. Name the first 5 presidents of the USA: Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe
48. Tie breaker 1- What is the average life span of a major league baseball? 7 pitches
49. Tie breaker 2- How much did it cost to go to a movie in 1940? 24 cents
50. Tie breaker 3- The Appalachian Trail goes through how many states? 14