A scavenger hunt is a great way to spend a day, an evening or basically anytime. It’s a great way to all get together and have a load of fun. If you or your kids enjoy that little element of mystery then put your detective hats on and get ready for some brilliant treasure hunts that will be fun for all your family and friends.
This is definitely one of the best ways to make sure your kids aren’t bored and they’re super versatile too. You can do these inside, outside or you can incorporate different key skills like maths or science – the choice is utterly yours so get thinking for the best scavenger hunt ever.
Our list of scavenger hunts will help you come up with the best possible ideas for your friends and family and it’ll be great fun. Let’s take a look at some of the best ideas for you.
Scavenger Hunt Ideas
1. Picture Scavenger Hunt
This is an excellent idea if you love photography and taking pictures whether it’s on a camera or on your phone. You can set up a list of things to take photos of and contestants can tick them off as they go along. You could also judge this treasure hunt in two ways; either whoever finishes first wins or whoever has the most creative photos wins. No matter what you choose, it’s great fun for everyone involved and you should certainly give it a try with your kids, friends, or family.
2. Road trip Scavenger Hunt
If you’re a group of people who go on road trips often or simply just get bored in the car quite quickly then this could be the perfect scavenger hunt for you. Simply print out a sheet with different things you might see on a road trip and tick them off as you go. Whoever gets them all first is the winner. This is kid friendly too and is something easy enough for you to just keep in the car at all times so you always have something to do on those long journeys. It’ll also be handy to always keep a few pencils in your car too so you’re ready to whip out this scavenger hunt whenever.
3. Neighborhood Scavenger Hunt
These are always a good bit of fun and there are loads of different ways you can go about it. If you want to get to know some neighbors then this is also a brilliant way to do that. Make sure you’re completely safe when doing this so it would be good if you knew who the neighbors were before to make sure you’re not putting yourself or anyone else in possible danger. It’s also a good idea to let your neighbors know that you’re about to do this in advance in case it causes some disturbance.
One way you could do a neighborhood scavenger hunt is by going to the doors of each of your neighbors and asking them if they have a particular thing in their home that is on your list. This could be anything from a pencil to a lawnmower and it’s super fun. You could also just do an outdoor scavenger hunt in your local neighborhood like you would with a normal scavenger hunt. This could be either finding hidden objects or ticking things off a list that you can see. Another option is of course following clues to find one big prize in the local neighborhood.
Scavenger Hunts For Kindergarteners
4. Alphabet Scavenger Hunt
If your kindergartener loves to learn then an alphabet scavenger hunt could be just the thing. Write down all the letters in the alphabet and help them find things that start with each of those letters. This will get their brain going and will also help them have lots of fun. You could do this anywhere like starting in just their room, going around your backyard, or maybe even your whole block.
5. Go Hunting for Some Animals
This is a great idea if your kid loves animals or anything to do with nature. If you’re going to the zoo then you can easily take a list of a few animals for your little kiddo to find like rhinos, hippos, or giraffes. You could also have a hunt in kids’ books for different pictures of animals that you could tick off a list. If you’re not keen on these animals that you don’t tend to see every day then why don’t you take your kid to the nearest park and get them to tick off more common animals like different bugs, dogs, or even cats? You can customize this in any way you’d like.
6. Gratitude Scavenger Hunt
This twist on scavenger hunts is a great way to introduce gratitude to your kids. You could customize this scavenger hunt to be anything you like to help your kids realize how fortunate they may be. You could encourage them to find something that they enjoy looking at, find something new, or even a random one like finding something that smells brilliant. Not only will your kid have lots of fun looking around for different bits as a normal scavenger hunt would go. But they also get the chance to realize how cool our world actually is when you look at the positives.
Indoor Scavenger Hunt
7. Find something…
A find something indoor scavenger hunt is always a good shout and is a classic. You can easily make your own printables with websites like Canva and other things like that. These types of scavenger hunts encourage your kids to keep their eyes peeled for things that are blue or with a pattern or even something that smells bad. You can easily customize these scavenger hunts to fit your preferences and what you think your kids will enjoy.
8. Word Scavenger Hunt
This is similar to the alphabet scavenger hunt that we’ve mentioned already. What you’ll want to do is hide all the letters of the alphabet around your house and as you find them, you have to try and make the longest word that is possible. Whoever gets the longest word or strangest word wins – you could always have a forfeit for the loser to make everything extra fun.
9. Art scavenger hunt
Now we’re all used to a set of pictures or clues on a scavenger hunt but what if we turned the tables. Small artists will love this as they’re the ones who have to draw the pictures based on what they can see around them. They could even try and write their own little riddle for the clues. After they’ve done this, everyone else can try and follow their own little creative scavenger hunt.
Kids Scavenger Hunt Ideas
10. My Favorite Things Scavenger Hunt
This is quite a cute scavenger hunt for kids and it’ll help them find those things that are particularly close to their hearts and that they love. It’ll also help them to be grateful for the things they have around them and to realize how fortunate they are. They could do anything from finding their favorite things to making a list of their favorite bits, it’s completely up to you.
11. Creative Treasure Hunt
This is a good one to do for birthdays, Christmas, or just a day when you’re bored. You can think of anything and if it’s someone’s birthday then you can get creative and make a birthday themed treasure hunt. Get all the kids (and adults) to have a look for the big prize and whoever gets there first is the winner.
12. How many..?
This scavenger hunt is a great option to keep your kids busy and to know how much stuff you have at home. Get your kids to count how many of each of the things that are written down there are. These could be things like orange toys or pasta or even rice grains if you’re feeling competitive.
Scavenger Hunt Clues For Kids
Sometimes, thinking of scavenger hunt clues is the hardest part of the scavenger hunt. That’s why we’ve put together a list of a few clues to give you some inspiration and to make the scavenger hunt planning process a little bit easier. This one is great for when you’re stuck at home or in your backyard or even if you just fancy some creative fun. Let’s get going and look at our list.
- A fork – I have four legs but I do not have feet. I come in very handy when it’s time to eat.
- An alarm – I love putting an end to sleep, and I do this with music, a buzz, or even a beep.
- A computer – I can take you to places you’ve never even seen, but first, you need to type your password into my screen.
- The stove – I do not get angry but I definitely get hot, I’m the best place for a pan or a pot.
- A pillow – I’m all full of feathers and fluff but to sleep without be is very tough.
So if you want to waste an afternoon easily and do something to cure your or your kids’ boredom then a scavenger hunt is a great option. They’re a very versatile activity and there are lots of different ones you can do if you fancy getting creative. In the world of scavenger hunts, the world really is your oyster so get scavenging and looking around for those objects and follow those clues.