Autumn Science & Nature
Why leaves lose their green color in the fall—a process caused by a slowdown in the production of this pigment due to less sunlight.
What is chlorophyll?
Though often thought of as a vegetable, this round, orange fall staple actually belongs to the gourd family and is a fruit.
What is a pumpkin?
This Mexican holiday, celebrated in early November, focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died.
What is Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead)?
This magical school is the place students return to every single September 1st in a famous book series by J.K. Rowling.
What is Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?
This crisp, refreshing beverage can be enjoyed either hot or cold and is a staple at apple orchards and pumpkin patches.
What is apple cider?
This term describes the specific date when daylight and nighttime are nearly equal in duration, officially kicking off the autumn season.
What is the autumn equinox?
Fuji, Gala, and Golden Delicious are all popular autumn varieties of this crisp fruit.
What is an apple?
In 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt officially established this holiday to be celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November.
What is Thanksgiving?
Michael Keaton played the titular "ghost with the most" in this 1988 Halloween comedy, which also spawned a 2024 sequel.
What is Beetlejuice?
This sport—both at the professional level and as a cornerstone of American high school culture—dominates television screens and stadiums every autumn.
What is football?
This bright orange-and-black insect famously flies thousands of miles south to Mexico during the fall months.
What is the Monarch butterfly?
Unlike most fruits, these tart red berries grow on vines in wetlands that are flooded by farmers right before harvest time.
What are cranberries?
This massive German autumn festival, which actually begins in late September, is the world's largest Volksfest (beer festival and traveling funfair).
What is Oktoberfest?
Morticia, Gomez, Wednesday, and Pugsley make up this creepy, kooky, and altogether ooky cinematic family.
What is The Addams Family?
When Daylight Saving Time ends each November, this is the exact net change to our clocks and our sleep schedules.
What is gaining an hour? (We set clocks back)
What is calendar date of the first official day of fall?
What is 9/22/2026?
While it's a popular choice for baking or roasting in the fall, this sweet root vegetable is also the main ingredient in a classic marshmallow-topped Thanksgiving casserole.
What is yams?
According to surveys by the National Retail Federation, roughly 90% of parents admit to doing this to their children’s trick-or-treat stashes after Halloween.
What is stealing (or eating) their candy?
This 2017 animated Disney-Pixar movie follows a boy named Miguel who accidentally travels to the Land of the Dead during a traditional fall holiday
What is Coco?
It's the reason why walking through a dense corn maze often feels significantly hotter and more humid than standing in an open pumpkin patch.
What is "corn sweats"? (Corn plants release moisture/transpire heavily)
This specific type of full moon is the one that occurs closest to the autumn equinox.
What is a harvest moon?
According to a national consumer spending survey, Americans are projected to spend a record-breaking $13.1 billion on candy, costumes, and decorations for this specific fall holiday.
What is Halloween?
This American city hosts the world's largest Halloween parade, which draws over 2 million spectators each year and requires anyone marching to be in a full costume.
What is New York City? (Specifically, Greenwich Village)
In the book Wonder, Auggie changes his mind at the last minute and wears this terrifying horror-movie costume for Halloween, allowing him to walk around school anonymously. Killers name?
What is Ghostface (from Scream)?
While it's famously associated with Thanksgiving today, this large bird was actually Benjamin Franklin’s preferred choice to be the official national bird of the United States.
What is a turkey?