HOW MANY BONES ARE IN YOUR BODY? - The number of bones you have changes from when you're a baby to when you're grown up. Babies start out with over 300 bones. Since babies have a lot of growing to do, some of the bones they'll have as adults start out in multiple pieces. Over time, these bones grow together to form one larger bone. By the time you're an adult, you'll have exactly 206 bones. Over half of those bones can be found in your hands and feet! Your bones can be divided into two skeletal systems. The axial skeleton contains all the bones in the trunk of your body (that's the middle part of your body that includes your spine). The appendicular skeleton contains all the bones in your limbs (that includes your arms, hands, legs and feet). Bones can be further classified into four categories. Short bones are, of course, short, and they help strengthen your skeleton. Long bones are found in your limbs. Flat bones protect your organs and provide a spot for muscles to attach. Irregular bones are oddly-shaped bones that don't fit into any of the other categories. You would look really funny without bones. Can you imagine being just a big blob of skin and muscles? It would be hard to do anything! Your skeleton gives your body shape, helps you move, protects your body, stores minerals, and helps to produce new blood cells. It's important to take care of your bones and keep them healthy.

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 How Many Bones Are in Your Body?

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Babies start out with over 300 bones. Since babies have a lot of growing to do, some of the bones they'll have as adults start out in multiple pieces. Over time, these bones grow together to form one larger bone. By the time you're an adult, you'll have exactly 206 bones - over half of those bones can be found in your hands and feet 

Wonderopolis®

Today’s Wonder of the Day was inspired by Sommer from Chicago, IL. Sommer Wonders, “How many bones are in a human?” Thanks for WONDERing with us, Sommer!

How does that old song go again? The knee bone's connected to the…? Shin bone? Thigh bone? Both? Aarrgghh! We can't remember.

Anyway, we were WONDERing about bones the other day and wanted to know how many we had.

We tried to count them, but then we realized they're all under our skin! It would be much easier if we had see-through skin or a best friend who was just a skeleton.

Do you have any idea how many bones you have?

Did you realize that the number of bones you have changes from when you're a baby to when you're grown up? It's true!

Babies start out with over 300 bones. Since babies have a lot of growing to do, some of the bones they'll have as adults start out in multiple pieces.

Over time, these bones grow together to form one larger bone.

By the time you're an adult, you'll have exactly 206 bones. Over half of those bones can be found in your hands and feet!

Your bones can be divided into two skeletal systems.

The axial skeleton contains all the bones in the trunk of your body (that's the middle part of your body that includes your spine).

The appendicular skeleton contains all the bones in your limbs (that includes your arms, hands, legs and feet).

Bones can be further classified into four categories.

Short bones are, of course, short, and they help strengthen your skeleton.

Long bones are — surprise! — long, and found in your limbs.

Flat bones protect your organs and provide a spot for muscles to attach.

Irregular bones are oddly-shaped bones that don't fit into any of the other categories.

You would look really funny without bones. Can you imagine being just a big blob of skin and muscles?

It would be hard to do anything! Your skeleton gives your body shape, helps you move, protects your body, stores minerals, and helps to produce new blood cells.

It's important to take care of your bones and keep them healthy.

Obviously, you can't take them out to inspect or clean, so how should you take care of them?

Your bones are alive and, like all other living things, they need proper nourishment.

For example, you can help keep your bones healthy by making sure you get enough calcium.

Calcium is a mineral that helps bones harden and become strong.

Foods with calcium include dairy products, such as milk, cheese, and yogurt, and dark green vegetables like kale, broccoli, and spinach.

You can also keep your bones healthy by exercising. If you play sports, though, make sure that you protect your bones by wearing the proper safety equipment, including helmets and pads!

Try It Out

“Break a leg!" That's what some people tell performers as they're about to go on stage.

It's meant as a funny way of saying “Good luck!"

We hope you have good luck as you try out one or more of the following activities with a friend or family member:

What would you look like without any skin? Kind of funny? Maybe a little scary?

You probably wouldn't look like the normal skeleton figures you see around Halloween.

They're missing all of their muscles, tissues, and organs, too! You can have fun drawing some of your bones, though.

For example, grab a piece of paper and a pencil. Trace your handprint onto a piece of paper and then draw the bones you think exist inside your hand.

If you need to, feel your hands to determine where the bones are. Have fun!

You can repeat this exercise for your feet or your arms and legs, too! So can you name all your bones? No, we don't mean giving them names, like “Hannah," “Maggie," or “Seth."

They actually already have names given to them by scientists over the years.

Grab a friend or family member and jump online to check out the Name Dem Bones Challenge.

Spend some time learning the names of various bones. When you think you know a lot of them, test yourself by printing and trying to fill out this Skeletal System Diagram.

Have fun learning the names of your bones! Up for a challenge? Are you ready to get up close and personal with your Skeletal System?

Just follow that link to access a page with links to real photographs of many different parts of the skeletal system.

You'll reinforce your knowledge of the names of different bones while also developing a better understanding of your bones and what they actually look like. hare the information you learn with a friend or family member.

Welcome to Wonderopolis®, a place where natural curiosity and imagination lead to exploration and discovery in learners of all ages. Each day, we pose an intriguing question—the Wonder of the Day®—and explore it in a variety of ways.

Wonderopolis was created by the National Center for Families Learning (NCFL) in 2010, and it has become one of the most popular education sites today.

https://www.wonderopolis.org/wonder/how-many-bones-are-in-your-body