BlackDog's Summer Camp - Have a Scavenger Hunt

Have a Scavenger Hunt

"The game's afoot!" Sherlock Holmes would cry as he started off on another adventure. Grab some friends, make a list, and spend an afternoon on your own adventure.

A scavenger hunt can be very complex or very simple. Basically it's searching for things on a list.

The first thing to do is make a list of things. Everybody playing gets a copy of the list. Set a time limit for the hunt. The winner is the person who finds all (or most) of the things on the list.

The most fun scavenger hunts are ones with a theme. For example, if it's a nice, sunny day and you live in an area where it's possible, have a nature scavenger hunt. Make a list of things to find outside in nature, such as a pine cone, a bug, different kinds or sizes of leaves, etc. Duplicate the list for each player, or one copy of the list for every two people if you divide the players into teams. Set a time limit, and have fun. The winner will be the first person or team back with all the objects or with the most objects on the list when time runs out.

What if it's raining outside? No problem. Just make a list of things to find inside. Can't think of anything for the list? No problem! Try playing BlackDog's Zoo Animal Hunt:

BlackDog's Zoo Animal Scavenger Hunt: Print out the list and the images below. Make a copy or print out however many copies you need so that each person has the potential of finding all of the items on the list. Before your company arrives, hide the images all around the house (not in dangerous places, please!). When you're ready to start the game, give everyone a copy of the list. The first person or team to find all or most of the items on the list within the time limit you set wins. To make it even more fun, after the images have been found, have fun coloring them all. Here are the things you need for this scavenger hunt:

The List (single per page)
The List (double per page) The Bear
The Beaver
The Camel
The Elephant
The Giraffe
The Lion The Monkey
The Panda
The Penguin
The Ram
The Turtle
The Zebra

How to print: To print out the images and the list, click on the links above, one by one. When the image has finished loading in your web browser, from the upper left corner of your web browser, click on "File" then "Print." To return to this page, just click the "Back" button on your web browser.

After you print out all of the animal images, cut them apart along the lines. All you have to do then is hide them and have fun!

Want to get rid of those pesky marks on the pages your images are printed on? Click here for an explanation of how to fix this problem in Microsoft's Internet Explorer. (Last checked in version 6.)

Here are some suggestions for your scavenger hunt:

Suggestion #1: If you have lots of people, break into teams. The first team to find all or most of the items on the list within the time limit wins.

Suggestion #2: For an afternoon of real detecting, start the game with a question or problem. The items on the list are clues which lead to the answer or resolution of the problem. For example, the theme of your scavenger hunt could be "Patty Parrot is Missing!" Using the images above for the zoo animal hunt as clues, the searchers could determine that she went to visit her friends at the zoo.

Suggestion #3: Be sure to give each person or team a small paper or plastic bag to hold the items they find on the hunt. Don't forget to write names on the bags! Also, give each person or team a pencil along with the list so they can keep track of the items as they find them.

Suggestion #4: Need more themes? How about special dried flowers, clowns, different color birthday candles, funny hats, stuffed animals, party favors or even golden eggs. You can make just about anything the theme for a scavenger hunt!

Have fun!

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