Steel Facts for Kids

Steel Beams

This web page contains steel facts for kids and is an excellent resource for anyone of any age looking to learn about this amazing metal alloy. Our goal is to provide you with accurate, up to date facts about steel. In addition to facts about steel, we provide additional resources to help you with your research on the different types of steel.

The steel facts below will help you learn about steel, what steel is, when steel was invented, how steel is used, what are the different types of steel and other steel related facts. We hope these steel facts are interesting and help you learn more about this revolutionary metal alloy.

If any of the below steel facts are inaccurate, please contact us and let us know.

17 Steel Facts for Kids

  1. Steel is a hard alloy (combination of metals) made from iron and a little bit of carbon.
  2. The low cost and high tensile strength of steel is why it’s a common building material.
  3. English inventor Henry Bessemer introduced the Bessemer process in 1855. He is credited with the first method to mass produce steel and started the modern era of steelmaking.
  4. There are four main groups of steel according to the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI).
  5. The four main groups of steel are carbon steels, alloy steels, stainless steels and tool steels.
  6. These four main groups have additional subgroups underneath them. For example, carbon steels include low carbon steel, medium carbon steel, high carbon steel and ultra-high carbon steel.
  7. Steel is a very recyclable material, in North America about 69% of all steel is recycled.
  8. Steel can be recycled multiple times without losing any of its strength.
  9. Enough steel was recycled from old cars in 2006 to produce over 13 million new ones.
  10. A house built with steel frames costs eight recycled cars, a house with wood frames costs 40+ trees.
  11. Carbon steel makes up 90% of the world’s annual steel production.
  12. According to the World Steel Association, worldwide production of steel in 2019 reached 2,061 million tons.
  13. According to the World Steel Association, the United States produced over 96 million tons of steel.
  14. According to the World Steel Association, China has been the largest producer of steel since the year 2000. In 2018, China produced 928.3 million metric tons of steel. That is more than half of the 1,808.6 million metric tons of steel that was produced worldwide in 2018.
  15. In 1885, the first skyscraper to be built with steel was completed in Chicago, Illinois. It was the Home Insurance Building with 10 floors, two additional floors added later brought it up to 12 floors.
  16. In 1922, the first automobile to be made from steel was introduced by Dodge.
  17. The oldest steel items found are almost 4,000 years old. Steel was found in pieces of ironware discovered in an archaeological site in Turkey.

Additional Resources with Steel Facts

  • Learn About Steel – Read more about steel and its uses on the World Steel Association website.
  • 50 Facts About Steel – View 50 fun facts about steel on the American Iron and Steel Institute website.
  • Steel – Britannica – Discover more cool facts about steel on the Britannica website.

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