Fun Facts and Activities for Kids to Celebrate the Paralympics at School

What Are the Paralympics?

The Paralympics is a major international sports competition for athletes with disabilities, held alongside the Olympic Games every four years.

In 2026, the Winter Olympic Games will take place from 6-22 February, followed by the Winter Paralympic Games from 6-15 March, both in Italy in two different cities — Milan and Cortina D’Ampezzo. This is the first-ever Olympic and Paralympic Games to be officially co-hosted by two cities.

Paralympics History Facts

Need to learn more about the history of the Paralympic Games? Have no fear! Take a look at this brief history:

• 1944: Dr Ludwig Guttmann opened a spinal injuries unit at Stoke Mandeville Hospital at the British Government’s request. After World War II, sports for athletes with impairment evolved from rehabilitation and recreational sports that assisted war veterans and civilians who had been injured during the war into the competitive Paralympic Games we know and watch today.
• 1948: In a milestone for Paralympic history, Dr Guttmann organised the first competitive event for injured servicemen and women, the Stoke Mandeville Games. This was held as part of the Opening Ceremony of the 1948 London Olympic Games.
• 1960: The first Summer Paralympic Games were hosted in Rome, Italy, with 400 athletes from 23 countries (including Australia)!
• 1976: The first Winter Paralympic Games were hosted in Sweden.
• 1988: The Summer Paralympic Games in Seoul, Korea, marked the beginning of the Paralympic Games being held in the same cities and venues as the Olympics.
• 1989: The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) was founded as the global governing body of the Paralympic movement.
• 2001: A formal agreement was signed, the “One Bid, One City” agreement, ensuring that from 2008 onwards, the Olympics and Paralympics would always share host cities.

Now that you know a bit more about the evolution of the Paralympic Games, why not bring this rich history into the classroom by highlighting a couple of the standout facts your students would find fascinating? Sharing just one or two on a slide can be a great way to spark curiosity and open up a discussion about how the Games have changed over time. From there, you can channel that interest into our Paralympic Games Historical Timeline Inquiry-Based Project, where students explore key moments, dive deeper into one event, and help create a collaborative class timeline. It’s a simple but engaging way to turn new knowledge into meaningful learning.

Paralympics Facts for Kids

Now that you know a bit about Paralympic history, here are some additional facts your students are sure to enjoy!

1. The four values of the Paralympic movement are courage, determination, inspiration and equality. Paralympics Australia’s values are brave, limitless, tenacious and proud.
2. The Paralympics’ symbol is three Agitos, which means ‘I move’ in Latin. The three Agitos are blue, red and green.
3. To compete in the Paralympics, athletes must have an eligible impairment and meet the classification criteria set by each sport’s international federation.
4. The Paralympics include eight disability groups: loss of limbs, muscle weakness, coordination impairments, restricted joint movement, short stature, leg length difference, intellectual impairment and vision impairment.
5. Did you know that in Para-alpine skiing, some athletes race down the mountain on a special piece of equipment called a sit-ski? It lets Para athletes who can’t use their legs ski at incredibly high speeds.
6. Did you know you can compete in both the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games? Australia’s very own Michael Milton is one of the rare Para athletes to do just that — first becoming famous for winning multiple medals in Winter Para-Alpine Skiing, and later switching seasons to compete in Para-Cycling at the Beijing 2008 Summer Paralympics.
   
7. There are 28 Paralympic sports (6 in the Winter Games and 22 in the Summer Games), including Para-snowboard, Wheelchair curling, Boccia, Para-rowing, Para-ice hockey and many more.
8. Gold medals in the Paralympic Games are actually silver medals plated with gold. In the 2020 Tokyo Olympic/Paralympic Games, each medal was made from recycled consumer electronics.
9. The Paralympic Games always take place two weeks after the Olympic Games.
10. This year’s Paralympic Winter Games will include mixed doubles in wheelchair curling for the very first time! This new event pairs one male and one female athlete on each team, and each end begins with stones already placed on the ice, making gameplay fast and exciting right from the start.
11. Some Paralympians with vision impairment race as a team with a sighted guide — and because they compete together from start to finish, both the athlete and the guide are awarded Paralympic medals when they win!
12. The 2026 Winter Paralympics in Italy are going to be the biggest Winter Paralympics ever — with 665 Paralympians from 50 nations all coming together to compete on snow and ice! That’s like filling an entire school with athletes from all around the world.

Paralympic-Inspired Activities for Kids

Explore the Winter Paralympics with Snow Limits Magazine

Dive into the Winter Paralympic Games with Snow Limits, our new free magazine created with Paralympics Australia. This ready-to-use resource introduces students to Paralympians, adaptive winter sports and the values that drive the Games. The accompanying, curriculum-aligned activities support a range of text types and spark student-led inquiry.

Flexible for whole-class lessons, small groups or independent reading, Snow Limits offers an engaging way to build knowledge, inspire conversations, and connect learning to real-world events.

Research the Host City

Exploring the host city is a fun way to help students connect with the Winter Paralympics and understand the world beyond their own backyard. Start by locating Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo on a map and talking about where they sit within Italy. From there, invite students to dig a little deeper into what makes the host region unique — its landmarks, climate, famous foods, or even the winter sports it’s known for.

Bring the excitement of the Paralympic Games straight into your classroom by tracking how many medals Team Australia collects each day. It’s a fun, real‑life way to build place‑value understanding and get students talking about the Games.

Want to make the activity more exciting? Use this Paralympic Medal Tracker to follow Australia’s gold, silver and bronze wins as they happen. Students can colour in each new medal and compare how the tally grows over time. If you want to take it further, invite them to create simple graphs or charts at the end of the Games to show the final results — a great way to tie maths and the Paralympics together in a meaningful, low‑prep activity.

Design a New Medal

Start a quick class chat about how each Paralympic host city designs its own medals every two years. Show students a few medal designs from past Games and point out how the materials and artwork often reflect something special about the host country — for example, the Paris Games even included a piece of iron from the Eiffel Tower in every medal.

Engage in SEL-Focused Classroom Discussions

The Paralympic Games offer a powerful, real-world opportunity to talk with your students about diversity, inclusion and the many ways people show courage and resilience. Bringing these conversations into your morning meeting is a meaningful way to incorporate Social Emotional Learning (SEL) and help students reflect on values like empathy, perseverance and respect. Use the prompts below to spark thoughtful discussion:

Discussion Questions:

• What does fairness mean in sports, and how do the Paralympics help us think differently about what fairness looks like?
• Do you think athletes should be able to compete in both the Olympics and Paralympics? Why or why not?
• What questions would you like to ask a Paralympian?
• How can everyone be more inclusive during games or sports at school? Can you think of examples from recess or PE?
• If you could add another sport to the Paralympic Games, what would it be and why?
• What can we learn from Paralympians about supporting one another as teammates or classmates?
• Why is representation important in sport? How does seeing different kinds of athletes help us understand one another better?

Create a Snow Globe to Celebrate the Winter Games

Bring the magic of the Winter Paralympics into your classroom with this simple, hands‑on snow globe craft. This three‑sided activity blends creativity, writing and sports awareness, giving students a fun way to connect with the Games.

Research a Paralympian

Invite your students to choose a past or present Paralympian and create a short biography about them. They can explore the athlete’s background, the sport and classification they compete in, and the challenges they’ve overcome on their journey. Encourage students to highlight the unique strengths, adaptations, and achievements that make Paralympians such powerful role models. It’s a simple, meaningful way to build research and writing skills while celebrating resilience and inclusion.

Add Paralympic Books to Your Classroom Library

Want to diversify your classroom library further? Consider these titles to collect for your students to browse independently or read aloud to the class:

• What Are the Paralympic Games? by Gail Herman
• Amazing Facts: Olympics & Paralympics by Caroline Rowlands
• Wheelchair Sports at the Paralympics by Matt Bowers
• Lucas at the Paralympics by Igor Plohl
• Declan Farmer: Paralympic Hockey Star by Sports Illustrated Kids

Follow the Paralympic Games

To continue learning about the Paralympic Games, visit the Paralympics Australia website and the IPC website or follow along via Instagram. You can also watch videos and introduce different sports to your students via YouTube.