Scavenger Hunt Clue Ideas

Archive for the ‘Outdoor Treasure Hunts’ Category

The weather is warming up nicely, the trees and flowers are in bloom, and soon the weather will be hot enough for a trip to the beach. While you are there, why not have some extra fun with some beach themed games? Treasure hunting at the beach can be very simple and easy, and loads of fun for the whole family.

Buried treasure is especially fun for kids to find, so why not have a buried treasure hunt? This is best done when one adult can go ahead of the kids and hide the treasure to be found. Alternatively, you could just use what is naturally buried in the sand, and make the treasure hunt a scavenger hunt also!

If you are burying the treasure to be found, make it relative to the beach. Differently shaped containers, buckets, inflatable float toys, and nets are all good ideas for buried treasure. Small, well-packaged snacks and drinks could be included as well. With the help of Riddle Me, you can create a treasure map with clues to help with the discovery! After the treasure has been unburied, use the found goods to build an interesting and unique sand castle!

To use what is found naturally buried at the beach and have a scavenger hunt instead, make a list of items for your family to search for. You can find some great ideas with the help of the software at www.riddleme.net. Sand dollars, different types of shells, dried starfish, and even living creatures such as hermit crabs are all fun options for a scavenger hunt. They will also make memorable keepsakes to take home after the trip is over, reminding you and your family of the fun at the beach for years to come.

Do you remember the days when you were a kid, and the pleasure gained from fun, simple outdoor activities? So many kids these days are missing out when it comes to outdoor fun. Technology has replaced fresh air and sunshine with video games and social networking, both addictive in nature, and not nearly as healthy or fun as having a good time outdoors. Getting your kids to realize this may take some convincing, so here are a few ideas!

Treasure Hunting

There are many different themes that could be applied to this outdoor activity. Choose something based on what your children’s current interests are. Some ideas are Pirate treasure hunts, hunts for “magical” treasure, or multiple-location treasure hunts, in which the treasures found come together to make one whole treasure in the end. Dressing up according to the theme is always fun, too! Hosting the hunt during the dusky hours of the evening or even in the early night hours is another fun option, because it adds to the excitement of the game. Many ideas for treasure hunts can be found and customized according to your needs online, on sites such as www.riddleme.net. The software will help you to be creative in planning your treasure hunt.

Outdoor Riddle Games

The old tried and true “I spy” game is a fantastic choice for an outdoor riddle game. Choose a theme, and have the participants “spy” something that relates to this theme. Riddles can be created with the help of Riddle Me software, taking some of the creative burden off of your busy shoulders. When the fun of guessing all the spied items is done, get the kids to put them together and create their own riddles for each other to guess!

These simple and fun activities are inexpensive, bring the family together as a unit, and can get your kids out in the fresh air of the springtime and away from the computer screen. Visit www.riddleme.net today for more fun ideas!

You can use Riddle Me to make clues for a Walk-a-thon.  Select locations from the Riddle Me list, as many as you need to get the distance you are walking (One user used 20 clues over 7 kilometers).  Give the clues out to the participants and watch them walk to each location.  Great for physical exercise, and keeps the kids occupied with something to think about instead of just thinking about all the walking.

Each child will pretend to be a rancher and help round up the cattle.
Select several locations from the Riddle Me home inventory list, enough for each child to go to separated places. In each location, hide a toy cow or a picture of a cow.
Then it’s time for the round up. For fun, each child could ride a stick horse.
Give each child one clue, different from the other children. Once they find where the clue leads, they should get the cow and bring it back. You can then give them a second clue and so on until all the cows are rounded up.

Choose locations from the Riddle Me home inventory list.  Save the first clue to read later. Put the second clue where the first clue leads. Put the third clue where the second clue leads, and so on.
At each location, each person must think of a song about the location they have come to. They must sing at least one line of their song.
For example, the first clue may lead you to a flower bed. One person might think of the song “Yellow Rose of Texas”. The next person may think of “Little Purple Pansies” and so on until everyone has had a turn. Then read the next clue, go to the next spot, and sing a song.
You could add to the challenge to see who can remember the most words of the song they have chosen.

Select “water” locations from the Riddle Me home inventory list, for example: pool, bathroom sink, kitchen sink, sprinkler, watering can, or bathtub. Hide a toy water creature in each location.
Give the children the first clue. Once they have found the creature. Read them the second clue and so on.
At the end, the children could play with the creatures in the pool or sprinkler.

Select three locations from the Riddle Me home inventory list.
Make a “map” of the locations by putting the three clues on one page and drawing lines from one clue to the other.
Give each child a backpack to collect something from each location.
At each location set up a “problem” for the explorers to solve.
For example: 
The first location could lead to the coffee table. Here they will have to put together a simple puzzle of an animal. They could then put that in their packs.
The second location could lead a pile of toy bugs. Here they will have to sort the bugs into ones that are alike and then sort them so each child gets one of each to put in their pack.
The third location could lead to the picnic table. Have some little toy birds. At this location, they have to make a nest out of playdough for the little birds to live in. Give each child a bag of playdough to put in their pack.

Put clues to the each location inside red, white, and blue balloons. On the outside of the balloon, once it is inflated, write a simple question about Independence Day on it with a permanent marker or print them out and tape them to the balloon. Then hide them in the locations you generated with Riddle Me.
When the players come to each location, they must read the question first. When they answer it correctly, they may pop the balloon to get the next clue.  The players should be allowed some help or be able to access the internet to look up some of the answers that stump them.
Possible questions:
What is the name of the paper that was signed declaring independence?
In what year was the Declaration of Independence signed?
How many colonies united to declare independence?
Name one person who signed the Declaration of Independence.
Who was the first president of the United States?
What country did the colonies declare their independence from?
How many stripes are on the flag and why?
What do the stars on the flag represent?
What is the name of the national anthem?
What is one way people celebrate Independence Day?

Have a paper representing the Declaration of Independence. Select locations you want the children to go to from Riddle Me’s hunt inventory.
On the back of your declaration paper put the first clue and only half of the clue for each of the other locations. Then hide the other half of the clues with an item in each of the other locations. The items with the clues could be something like sunglasses, paper money, a piece of carved wood – items similar to the movie. Give the children the map and have them read the first clue. It will send them to the first location and the rest of the second clue.
The final clue would lead them to the “treasure”.  It could be a cake decorated like the flag or gold coin candies.

Have the children pretend they are the messengers telling each of the thirteen colonies of their independence!
Select thirteen locations from the Riddle Me inventory. Give each location the name of one of the thirteen colonies (Virginia, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maryland, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Delaware, North Carolina, South Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Georgia.) Place a copy of each states flag in the location.
Start your hunt by giving the children a clue to send them to the first “state”. When they find it, they should say, “Happy Independence Day (and the states name)!” Then read the next clue to the next location or “state”. Have them bring each flag with them so in the end all the the thirteen colonies flags will be together – becoming the original United States.
You could make a parade with sparklers and the flags while everyone sings “America the Beautiful”.