11 Great Fun-Filled Scavenger Hunt Ideas For Kids To Play
Harshita is a graduate in commerce and holds a PG Diploma in Patent and Copyrights Law from NALSAR University. She has also pursued CA and has more than three years of internship experience in auditing. Her love for travelling has taken her to various parts of the world, and writing the travelogues was what brought out her love for content writing.
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Are the kids bored, or have they been watching the tab for hours? It isn’t easy to move them out of inertia, unless you have a great idea, that is.
That great idea can come in the form of a scavenger hunt. A scavenger hunt is played both indoors and outdoors, and doesn’t require too many playthings. However, what it needs is an enthusiastic group of children, who are ready to skid under the bed or barge into the bushes to find their set of items.
You have a gang ready? Then it’s time to play. But before you start, read on as MomJunction brings you a list of exciting scavenger hunt ideas for kids.
In This Article
What Is The Difference Between A Scavenger Hunt And A Treasure Hunt?
A scavenger hunt and a treasure hunt sound similar as both involve finding some hidden items. But there are some subtle differences:
- Whereas treasure hunt is about finding a treasure of valuable items, a scavenger hunt is about finding random things.
- In treasure hunt, there is usually a puzzle or hidden clues, which the players have to crack to know the item. In a scavenger hunt, there is a list or photo of the items that you should find.
Now, it’s time to start the scavenger hunt for kids and try various ideas mentioned in the next section.
11 Scavenger Hunt Games for kids
The players have to look around and search for things that are on the hunt list. The team or the player that finds the maximum number of things in the given time is the winner.
Indoor scavenger hunt for kids
You can try these games on a windy, rainy, or a sunny day, in short, on any day of the week.
1. Costume scavenger hunt
A theme-based scavenger hunt is thrilling. You just need to have the costumes and the accessories ready at home.
How to play:
- Hide the costume and the accessories at different places in the house.
- Make a list of things they need to find. You may also paste the pictures of the item on the paper for their understanding.
- They must bring the items one by one and keep them on the table.
- Once all the items are found, make them wear the costume and the accessories to find out which character they have searched for.
2. Make-a-treat scavenger hunt
This is a special way to surprise the children by preparing their favorite dish with the things they found. You can hide the entire stuff required for making the dish, right from the ingredients to the utensils.
How to play:
- Prepare a list of the ingredients as well as the utensils for the dish you wish to prepare.
- Let the kids search for the things and get them on the table.
- If more than one kid is participating, then make sure they keep track of it by crossing the items found.
- Once they collect everything, reveal the surprise. What better gift than a delicious treat?
3. Puzzle scavenger hunt
Solving puzzles is always fun and an interesting way to improve the learning skills in toddlers. You can bring variations to use it as a kids party scavenger hunt idea. You need some color papers and colorful blocks.
How to play:
- Arrange the color papers in a row, one kept beside the other.
- Hide the blocks at different places. Let the kids find them and put them on the respective color paper.
At the end of the game, you can make it more interesting by asking out some simple mathematical questions like, which color sheet has the most or the least number of blocks.
[ Read: Recycling Games And Activities For Kids ]
4. Book scavenger hunt
Let your kid indulge in reading and know the different genres in literature. A small indoor library is all you need for this game.
How to play:
- Make a list of different kinds of books you have on your bookshelf, such as biographies, magazines, story books, recipe books, picture books, etc.
- Give them the names of the books they have to find from each category.
- To make it more interesting, make them read the first page of the book.
- You can add variations to this activity to make reading more fun.
5. Memory scavenger hunt
It is a fulfilled way to test the memory of your kids. This game is good for a group of young children or toddlers. You will need some random toys, paper, and a pencil.
How to play:
- Choose the toys for the game and show them to the children. Let them remember the things. To make it simpler, you can write the name of the toys on a paper for their reference.
- Have as many toys as possible because the more the merrier.
- Show the kids the places where you are hiding each toy; they need to remember the place and the toy.
- Ask them to find a toy from the list. They should be able to pick the toy from the place where it is hidden.
6. ABCs scavenger hunt
You need alphabet blocks with uppercase and lower case and a few boxes with the name of the child written on it.
How to play:
- Mix the alphabet blocks (upper case and lower case letters) and hide them.
- Say aloud one letter at a time, like capital A or small letter t. Be distinct when you are case-specific.
- Let the kids hunt for the letters and put them in their respective boxes.
- Once all the letters are covered, count the number of blocks collected by each of them.
- The one who has picked the maximum wins the game.
If you are playing with children of above nine years or teenagers, you can make the games tad difficult by giving them clues instead of the list of items. Does it sound like a treasure hunt? Maybe yes, but how does that matter as long as the children are having fun?
Indoor Scavenger Hunt Clues For Kids
Here are some clues with answers.
- My job is to wake you up with a beep or buzz, who am I?
Answer: Clock
- The more I dry, the more I become wet.
Answer: Towel
- Dry goes in and wet comes out, I am the one whom you can’t live without.
Answer: Washing machine
- Turn me on when it’s dark; I help you show the path.
Answer: Torchlight
- I am the place to find food when you are in a hungry mood.
Answer: Kitchen
Outdoor Scavenger Hunt For Kids
Outdoors provide several fun scavenger hunt ideas for kids. Be it the backyard of your house, or a playground, or a beach, the hunt is definitely going to excite them.
7. Neighborhood scavenger hunt
It is a great way to enhance the social skills in kids by making them interact with the people in their neighborhood.
How to play:
- Make a list of things like a pen, safety pin, a ball, newspaper, etc.
- The players should collect these things from the neighbors by going door-to-door.
- The players are allowed to visit every home other than their own.
- The player, who collects the maximum items, wins.
[ Read: Brain Games For Kids ]
8. Nature scavenger hunt
It helps your kid to connect with nature by carefully observing the things around them. It can be played in a garden or a park.
How to play:
- You need paper and a pencil to make a list of things that can be easily found. The list can include stones, flowers, butterflies, etc.
- Make rectangular tick boxes against each word.
- Handover the list to the children and let them tick the things they find.
- The team or the player, who finds the maximum things on the list in the shortest duration, wins the game.
9. Listen-to-sound scavenger hunt
This activity helps make the children aware of various sounds in nature. All you need is paper and a pencil to get started.
- Prepare a list of the sounds the kids need to recognize. You can also get a printed sheet with pictures.
- Go to an outdoor location, let them listen to the sounds, and tick the words or pictures they have recognized.
- Once you are back home, talk with them about the different sounds they heard. Also, ask if they heard any sound that was not in the list.
10. Photo adventure scavenger hunt
Children would love capturing beautiful things in their camera and creating an album to cherish.
How to play:
- Decide if you want the kids to play it as a team or as individual players and arrange the cameras accordingly.
- Arrange a camera for each player (or team), a pencil, notebook, and a timer.
- Make a list of things, like a flower, insect, animal, etc., you want the children to capture in the camera.
- Choose any outdoor place like a zoo, park, garden, or beach.
- Make a list of things you need the child to take pictures of. Each child/ team should be having this list.
- To make sure the children are safe, set a boundary which they should not cross. It helps them see you and you can also locate them.
- Let them click the pictures and write about it in the notebook. They should maintain separate pages for each picture they click.
- They can also get the prints of the pictures and paste them.
- You may have this activity while you are traveling.
11. Grab-the-grocery scavenger hunt
It’s an interesting way to let your child know about the groceries used at home. However, it needs the parent to be with there in the store.
How to play:
- You need a paper, pencil, and a clipboard to start off the game.
- Make a list of things that your kid needs to find in a grocery store.
- Let them pick the items and put them in the bag.
- Make them tick mark all the items that they could find from the list.
- Ensure that you stay with the child while they pick the items.
- Buy them their favorite stuff as a special treat.
Outdoor Scavenger Hunt Clues For Kids
You can have some brain teasers as clues. Here are some questions you can try.
- I am lush green and happening, you visit me with family during the evening.
Answer: Garden
- I do have a bark, but I don’t bite, with rain and sunshine I do grow in height.
Answer: Tree
- I never walk, I never talk, in spite of a bed I never sleep, but you visit me to find some peace.
Answer: River
- I start growing green on a tree standing tall, as I turn orange and old you see me on the ground during the fall.
Answer: Leaf
- You drive through me to reach the place you want to see, who am I? Answer: Road
[ Read: Math Games And Puzzles For Kids ]
Their safety is your priority
Scavenger hunt ideas work well in making a boring day bright. However, when you are planning the hunt, kids’ safety should be the topmost priority. Do not ask them do anything that can put them at a risk of an untoward incident. Play safe and have fun together.
Do you have any more ideas for a scavenger hunt? Let us know in the comments section below.
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Read full bio of Harshita Makvana
