Science riddles are a great way to get second graders thinking, learning, and having fun. When tied to topics like animals, nature, or the sky, riddles make science exciting and easier to understand.
In this post, you’ll find 33 fun and clever science riddles designed just for grade 2 students—perfect for boosting curiosity, creativity, and problem-solving skills. Ready to jump in? Let’s go!

All Riddles
- Riddle: I have a heart that doesn’t beat, and yet I can grow. What am I?
Answer: A tree.
Explanation: A tree has a “heartwood,” but it doesn’t beat like a human heart. It grows taller and stronger with time, just like living beings!
- Riddle: What is full of holes but still holds a lot of weight?
Answer: A sponge.
Explanation: A sponge has lots of tiny holes (pores) but it can still hold a lot of water or dirt, showing how it can be both light and strong.
- Riddle: I change shapes and sizes but never disappear. What am I?
Answer: Water.
Explanation: Water can change from liquid to solid to gas, but it never vanishes—just changes forms!
- Riddle: What can travel around the world while staying in the corner?
Answer: A stamp.
Explanation: A stamp is placed in the corner of an envelope, but that envelope can travel far and wide!
- Riddle: I can be cracked, made, told, and played. What am I?
Answer: A joke.
Explanation: A joke fits all the conditions: it can be cracked, made, told, and played on someone!
- Riddle: I go up but never come down. What am I?
Answer: Your age.
Explanation: Your age only increases as time goes by—it never goes back down!
- Riddle: What has keys but can’t open locks?
Answer: A piano.
Explanation: A piano has keys that produce sound but not the kind that open locks!
- Riddle: What is the smallest unit of matter?
Answer: An atom.
Explanation: Atoms are the building blocks of all matter, making them the smallest unit of everything around us!
- Riddle: What comes up but never goes down?
Answer: Your age.
Explanation: As time passes, your age only increases, never decreases.
- Riddle: What gets wetter as it dries?
Answer: A towel.
Explanation: A towel dries things off by getting wet, and the more it dries, the wetter it becomes!
- Riddle: What has a face but cannot speak?
Answer: A clock.
Explanation: A clock has a “face” that shows the time, but it can’t talk.
- Riddle: I have wings but I cannot fly. What am I?
Answer: A butterfly.
Explanation: While butterflies have wings, they can’t fly like birds or airplanes—they flutter instead.
- Riddle: What is made of water but can be solid, liquid, or gas?
Answer: Water.
Explanation: Water can exist in all three states: solid (ice), liquid (water), and gas (steam).
- Riddle: What can you catch but not throw?
Answer: A cold.
Explanation: You can “catch” a cold when you’re sick, but you can’t throw it.
- Riddle: What goes up but never comes down?
Answer: Your age.
Explanation: Your age keeps increasing as you grow older—it’s a one-way journey!
- Riddle: I am something you can see but not touch. What am I?
Answer: A shadow.
Explanation: A shadow is visible but intangible—something you can see but can’t hold.
- Riddle: What has a neck but no head?
Answer: A bottle.
Explanation: A bottle has a neck, but it doesn’t have a head like an animal or person.
- Riddle: I am the biggest thing in the sky. What am I?
Answer: The Sun.
Explanation: The Sun is the largest object in the sky that gives light and warmth to our planet.
- Riddle: I can be cracked, made, told, and played. What am I?
Answer: A joke.
Explanation: A joke is something you can make and tell to others, and you can even “crack” a good one.
- Riddle: What comes once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a thousand years?
Answer: The letter M.
Explanation: The letter “M” appears once in the word “minute,” twice in “moment,” and is absent from “a thousand years.”
- Riddle: What has a mouth but cannot speak?
Answer: A river.
Explanation: A river has a “mouth” where it flows into the sea, but it cannot speak.
- Riddle: I have a bed but never sleep. What am I?
Answer: A river.
Explanation: A river has a “riverbed,” but it doesn’t sleep like a person!
- Riddle: What runs but never walks?
Answer: A river.
Explanation: A river flows or “runs,” but it never walks like a person or animal.
- Riddle: I can be long or short; I can be grown or bought; I can be painted or left bare; I can be round or square. What am I?
Answer: A nail.
Explanation: A nail can be different shapes, sizes, and conditions, depending on how it’s used!
- Riddle: What can be touched but never seen?
Answer: Your feelings.
Explanation: We can touch or feel emotions, but we can’t physically see them.
- Riddle: What has hands but can’t clap?
Answer: A clock.
Explanation: A clock has hands to show the time, but they can’t clap.
- Riddle: What kind of tree can you carry in your hand?
Answer: A palm tree.
Explanation: A palm tree is a type of tree, but it can also refer to the palm of your hand.
- Riddle: I can be cracked, I can be made, I can be told, I can be played. What am I?
Answer: A joke.
Explanation: Jokes are things that can be told and shared, often cracked for fun!
- Riddle: What is always in front of you but can’t be seen?
Answer: The future.
Explanation: The future is ahead of us, but we can’t see it until it becomes the present!
- Riddle: I can be hot, cold, or somewhere in between. I am a part of nature. What am I?
Answer: Air.
Explanation: Air can be hot, cold, or anything in between, depending on the weather.
- Riddle: I fly without wings. What am I?
Answer: Time.
Explanation: Time “flies” quickly, but it doesn’t have wings like a bird or airplane.
- Riddle: What is black when it’s clean and white when it’s dirty?
Answer: A chalkboard.
Explanation: A chalkboard starts black but turns white with chalk markings.
- Riddle: I am something you can see but never touch. What am I?
Answer: A rainbow.
Explanation: A rainbow can be seen after rain, but you can’t physically touch it.
Conclusion
These science riddles for grade 2 are a fun and educational way to engage young learners and spark curiosity about the natural world. Riddles help sharpen problem-solving skills, encourage critical thinking, and make learning science enjoyable.
We hope these riddles brought a smile to your face and got your brain working!
Do you have a favorite science riddle? Share it with us in the comments below! Let’s keep the curiosity flowing and challenge each other with even more fun riddles. Happy thinking!