How to Create a Scavenger Hunt

This article was co-authored by Jeremiah Thomas. Jeremiah Thomas is a Pickleball Expert and the Founder of Doylestown Pickleball based in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. With over 50 acres of facilities, Jeremiah and his team offer a wide variety of programming for kids looking to create, be active, and play on their dozens of courts and fields. Jeremiah is a certified PPR (Professional Pickleball Registry) instructor as well as a former college tennis player and instructor. He received his Bachelor of Education in Elementary and Early Childhood Education from Gwynedd Mercy University as well as a Master's in Educational Leadership and Administration from Delaware Valley University.

wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. This article received 14 testimonials and 82% of readers who voted found it helpful, earning it our reader-approved status.

This article has been viewed 1,286,601 times.

Scavenger hunts are a very popular game for kids. They are great for parties and summer vacations. Scavenger hunts are not just limited to kids, however; even adults and teens can still enjoy them. They are fairly easy to organize and even easier to play. The most difficult part, perhaps, is coming up with creative ideas. This article will not only show you how to organize a scavenger hunt but also how to host one. It will also give you ideas for themes.

Sample Item Lists

Organizing a Scavenger Hunt

• Warm and sunny days are for outdoor scavenger hunts.
• If the day is rainy or cold, it might be better to bring the scavenger hunt indoors.
• A park is great for older players or large groups. A backyard might be better for really young players.
• A house is great for all ages, but it might be difficult to accommodate a large group. You may also want to block off private areas, such as bedrooms and offices.
• Your neighborhood is a great place for a large scavenger hunt. If you plan on involving your neighbors, talk to them first, so that they know when to expect the players to come by and ask for the item.

• Give the players a list of items. Hide the items around your location, and have the players search for the items. The first player/group to find all of the items wins.
• Have the players go door-to-door asking for items off the list. Be sure to plan ahead with your neighbors if you choose to do this.
• Instead of hiding items, consider having each team to take a photo of an item from the list. This is great for parks, especially national parks where you can't take things from nature.

• If the hunt is for kids, a good prize might be small toys or candy.
• Movie tickets or cash are great prizes for older children.
• Adults will appreciate a gift certificate to a nice restaurant, a gift card to a store, or a basket of goodies.
• Consider basing the prize off of a theme. For example, if the hunt has a superhero theme, you could have superhero masks and capes as the prize.

• If the teams will be going door-to-door, choose inexpensive items people will be willing to give, such as a sheet of paper, a pencil, or a paperclip. You can also give your neighbors the items ahead of time so that they don't have to use their own.
• If your teams are going around the neighborhood taking pictures of landmarks, tell them the general area the landmark is in, such as “the statue in this park” or "a red flower."

• Plan on having adult helpers or chaperons for scavenger hunts involving small children, especially if you have a large group. This will make the kids easier to keep track of.
• Consider having second and third place prizes for very young children. This way, the ones who don't "win" won't feel left out.
• Keep the age group in mind when coming up with a theme. Small children might be interested in themes revolving around nature and animals while older children might be more interested in themes that involve literature, video games, and movies.

Overseeing the Scavenger Hunt

• If your guests are all different ages, consider pairing some of the younger guests up with the older ones. This will prevent any advantages and disadvantages between the groups.
• A great way to organize teams is by having people count off in numbers, such as 1 and 2. All of the 1s will be in one group, and all of the 2s will be in another.
• Another great way to organize teams is by having people pick colored slips of paper from a hat. All of the blue slips will be on one team, all of the red slips on another, and so forth.

• For very young children (preschool age) limit the scavenger hunt to no more than fifteen minutes. This will be long enough to keep the kids entertained, but short enough to keep them from getting bored.
• If the item list is very simple or short, 30 minutes should be enough.

• A basket, especially with a handle, will be the easiest to carry.
• A sack or bag will be cheaper than a basket. Consider a paper bag instead of a plastic one. Paper bags hold their shape better, so the items will be less likely to get mushed.
• A box can be difficult to carry, but it is also the sturdiest. You can also find decorative boxes to match the theme of your scavenger hunt at an arts and crafts store.

• If the scavenger hunt has a time limit, consider giving the players a stopwatch. You can also tell the players at what time the scavenger hunt ends. For example, if the scavenger hunt starts at 1 pm and lasts an hour, tell the players to be back by 2 pm.
• If your players are very young, you may want to add a second or third place prize to avoid any hurt feelings, jealousy, or tantrums.

Let the players know where they must meet once they finish. Having a meeting spot is very important. Some teams may finish before other teams do. You will want to have a place for these players to go to while they wait for everyone else to finish. This can simply be the same spot that you started the scavenger hunt in. It can also be a landmark, such as a statue in the park the hunt is taking place in. Make sure to have a person at the meeting spot to greet the winners and give them the prize.

Coming Up with Themes and Ideas

Know that there are a lot of ways to step up the creativity of your hunt to the next level. This section will give you lots of ideas on how to make your hunt more unique and interesting. It will help you find a theme and design. It will also offer a few creative twists. You don't have to use all of the ideas from this list. Choose the ones that appeal to you the most. [4] X Research source

• Base the scavenger hunt off of the guests' interests. For example, if the scavenger hunt is for a literature class, base all of the items of the different books the students are reading. If Harry Potter is on the list, consider including items such as broomsticks, owls, capes, and feather quills. You can even set the hunt up in a library.
• Base the scavenger hunt off of a holiday. If the hunt is during October, consider giving the hunt a Halloween theme. Have the players search for items that are related to Halloween, such as pumpkins, black cats, bats, spiders, witches, and skeletons.
• Focus on your location. If your scavenger hunt takes place in a park, scout out the park first and write down some things you notice, such as a weird-looking tree or a particular statue. You don't want the players to look for something that does not exist.
• Invent your own theme. You can base the hunt off of any theme you want. Here are a few just to get you started: animals, books, food, historical time period, ocean, movies, musical theater, rainforest, superhero, video games, and so forth.

• Instead of writing down "toaster," you could write, "I make toast crunchy and warm."
• Instead of writing "bookmark," you could write: "I save your place in a book."
• Instead of writing "needle and thread," you could write: "We go hand-in-hand as a pair, and you might use us to repair a tear."
• Instead of writing "broomstick" you could write: "A witch may use me to get around, but most will use me to sweep up the ground."

• This is great of scavenger hunts that take place outside or in a nature park.
• Consider basing the items on your grid off of the location. For example, if you are having a scavenger hunt at a beach, you could include the following: sea shell, sunbather, sand castle, seagull, crab, barking dog, and towel.

• This is great for nature walks and parks.
• Make sure that your list is related to the location. You don't want the players to look for something green if they are in a desert or rocky cave.

• For young children, use large fonts and lots of colors. Try to have no more than 10 items. It might also be a good idea to include a picture of the item, in case some of the players are still learning how to read.
• For older children, use large fonts and lots of colors, but omit the pictures. Put between 10 and 15 items on your list.
• For teens and adults, use a regular sized font. You can use colors to make the list look nicer. Your players may also find clues more interesting than simple item names.

• If your scavenger hunt has a beach theme, print the list on some beach-themed paper. You can also include a picture of sand, a palm tree, and some ocean waves at the bottom of your list instead.
• If your scavenger hunt takes place outside in a part, try to find some paper that has a leaf border.
• If your scavenger hunt is for an English class, consider including images at the top, bottom, or around the edges that are relevant to the books the students had read. For example, if the students have just read Harry Potter you could include pictures of owls, wands, and broomsticks.
• If the hunt is has a Renaissance or Medieval theme, consider using old-looking parchment paper instead. Use a fancy font that looks like it was written with a calligraphy pen.

Expert Q&A

Jeremiah Thomas is a Pickleball Expert and the Founder of Doylestown Pickleball based in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. With over 50 acres of facilities, Jeremiah and his team offer a wide variety of programming for kids looking to create, be active, and play on their dozens of courts and fields. Jeremiah is a certified PPR (Professional Pickleball Registry) instructor as well as a former college tennis player and instructor. He received his Bachelor of Education in Elementary and Early Childhood Education from Gwynedd Mercy University as well as a Master's in Educational Leadership and Administration from Delaware Valley University.

To create an engaging scavenger hunt for kids, consider different themes and activities. One favorite option involves an alphabet scavenger hunt. Start by writing the alphabet on popsicle sticks or have the kids do it themselves. Hide these sticks around your location, whether it's a farm or a large campus. On the back of each stick, provide hints about where the next stick might be hidden. This not only gives the children a fun tour but also helps reinforce their alphabet skills as they put the sticks in order upon returning. Additionally, explore online resources for outdoor-based scavenger hunts. For example, a themed scavenger hunt like "Oregon Trail" can incorporate obstacles for children to overcome, similar to the challenges in the game. Utilize team-building activities from resources like The Ultimate Camp Resource, where each stop in the scavenger hunt requires teams to complete tasks before receiving the next clue. These activities foster collaboration and problem-solving skills while keeping the adventure exciting for the participants.

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow