When was the last time you went on a scavenger hunt?
Maybe you collected items on the list all around town.
You might have taken photos based on descriptions provided.
Possibly your hunt took place at a flea market or a busy downtown.
Maybe you had to drive around to get to all the locations.
No matter what type of scavenger hunt, you likely had a bit of fun.
National Scavenger Hunt Day
Tomorrow, May 24th, is National Scavenger Hunt Day.
This is a great excuse to plan something unexpected. You could design a work event, something with your family and friends, or maybe another group or community you are part of.
The activity could happen in a short time window (as little as 15 minutes) or a longer time window (a few days to a week). This makes a scavenger hunt perfect for ad hoc team building and family bonding.
Scavenger Hunt Formats
To set up your scavenger hunt, there are a few decisions to be made:
Quantity – How many items are in the hunt? My recommendation is nine – enough, but not too much.
Format – How will the items to be found be provided? One option is to create a list of things (pencil, leaf, etc.), shapes (square, swirl, etc.), or colors (red, purple, etc.). Another direction is to provide photographs of items to locate. A third approach is to create riddles for the items to be found.
Collection – How will items be “collected”? You could have participants collect physical items, take photographs of items, or list the addresses where the items are located. My preference here is to use photographs. With nine items, you can use a free app (Layout from Instagram) to easily create a photo collage of the nine items on your phone.
My Story
A photography group I’m part of does a scavenger hunt every few months. There is a grid of nine items to find (very general because we are located all over the world). You have the day to find them and then post them to our group. I enjoy both the hunt and seeing how others interpret the challenge. The image in this post is from one of those challenges.
Your Turn
Have you ever participated in a scavenger hunt?
Who would you include in a hunt you design?
Take a few minutes today to design a fun break for those in your life!