Enjoying Your Child’s Scavenger Hunt

Scavenger hunts are very popular games for kids. It's also a great game idea for parties; even if you're an adult, scavenger hunts are still fun. They involve everyone and awaken the detective and adventurer within.

Here are a few tips to get you started.

• Decide when and where you want to have the hunt: In the park, at home, at the office, etc
• Decide what kind of prize to have at the end of the hunt. For kids, a good prize might be small toys, chocolate coins. Coupons or movie tickets are good prizes for older children.
• Create a list of things for the guests to find. The list can include easy-to-find items such as a stick of gum, a pencil, needle and thread; or harder-to-find items such as an old record, a ticket stub from an old movie, a hula hoop. Be creative! The possibilities are endless!
• On the day of the hunt, divide your guests into teams. Give each team a list of items and a time limit. Also give each team a notebook, felt-tip pens or crayons and a list of items to collect or to find and draw. Limit the game to a room, a building, a park or a playground. Assign each item a point value and make the treasure hunt theme oriented or random. The guests should have enough time to find most of the items.
• When the time is up, count the number of points for each team. The team who got the most items wins! For very young children (preschool age) limit the scavenger hunt to no more than ten to fifteen minutes. At the elementary age, the scavenger hunt can go up to half an hour before frustration and boredom set in.
• For an alternative, try a video scavenger hunt. This works on the same principle except you give the guests a list of things to do and record them doing it. An example: have your guests act like ducks and climb in a fountain quacking. Once again, be creative!
• After a video scavenger hunt, pop some popcorn and watch the videos. The kids will love it and so will the adults!
• If planning a scavenger hunt for young children, make sure to have an adult oversee each team.
• If your hunt is in the dark make sure that there are no obstacles that might trip or hurt people scrambling about and not seeing very well. Provide flashlights for assistance or light some tiki torches. Make it festive!
  

Remember Tips and Warnings!

Remember, you can have more than two teams. Smaller teams are more fun. Have each team find different things or just some of the same items. They may run into each other on their quests. Scavenger hunts for many topics are available on the internet if looking for a hunt in a classroom environment. Children should be accompanied by an adult if visiting neighborhood homes for the hunt.

Copyright 2007 Nikki Wilson.

Nikki Wilson is a party planner and event organizer who specializes in treasure hunts and scavenger hunts. After planning successful events for the past 15 years, she now provides a web based service for party and event planners with her detailed treasure hunt party game plans available online. She also has a book of scavenger hunt plans to suit all ages, locations and occasions. Planning your own party, and want a party game that will be memorable and fun? Take a look at Nikki’s treasure hunt planners at www.TreasureHuntBook.com

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