Your kid’s next birthday, first communion or Easter is coming up and you want to offer the little ones something special? Especially in the warmer months, it's a good idea to let the kids let off steam outdoors - in the form of an exciting scavenger hunt. Before you get down to work, take a few minutes to think about some important basic ideas.
With these 7 tips, your children's scavenger hunt will be a complete success - and will be remembered by everyone for a long time!
First of all, become clear about what play area you have available. This can be a large or small garden, of course, scavenger hunts are particularly exciting for children on a large meadow and in the forest. Also feasible are scavenger hunts indoors, e.g. in a large hobby cellar or community center.
Each playing field has its advantages and disadvantages: indoors, scavenger hunts in which children are allowed to let off steam physically are rather unsuitable. In contrast, scavenger hunts in the forest should pay particular attention to the safety aspect. There, small streams and tree roots tend to become nasty tripping hazards. On unmown meadows, ticks can become uninvited "fellow players".
Exciting, but particularly challenging in terms of children's safety, are scavenger hunts in the city.
Here the children complete tasks in which they can really let off steam, for example in small sporting games. The small groups can also play these out against each other. This concept is particularly suitable in large gardens or open meadows.
At each station, the children complete scavenger hunt tasks that allow them to stretch their grey matter. For older children, you can make the scavenger hunt especially challenging by having the puzzles build on each other. This concept is especially suitable for indoors and smaller gardens.
In this approach, the children must first find the individual stations. To do this, you can have them follow arrows and markers. With older children, the next station can also be determined by puzzle tasks. Variant A is particularly suitable in the forest, Variant B in large, winding gardens and in large buildings.
What age group are you dealing with: preschool, elementary school age, 5th-7th grade? Do you already know how many children will be there? Are they boys or/and girls? From 6 children it is recommended to form small groups. If it is not possible for you to keep an eye on all the children at the same time, get additional supervisors on board. Keep in mind that you are responsible for minors up to the age of 17 and can be held liable if worst case scenario occurs.
For children of all ages, it is particularly well received if your city rally is placed under a specific theme. Pirate scavenger hunts are always popular with young children. But you can also take inspiration from a hot children's movie or book. If you are developing a children's scavenger hunt for a church festival, why not include an exciting Bible story in your rally? Create a special atmosphere by using simple costume pieces and props. You don't need to spend a lot of money for this: rely on small accessories and let your child's imagination do the rest.
They may not be absent in any case: Prizes with which the little scavenger hunters are rewarded.These goodies, which don't have to cost a lot of money, can either be won at individual stations or handed over or found at the end. If you have several teams competing against each other, make sure that their prizes correspond in value to the place they have achieved on the podium.
You can already foresee that the effort is likely to be too much for you alone? Then don't be afraid to enlist support. This applies to the development in the run-up as well as the execution of the tasks on the day of the children's scavenger hunt itself. You can also ask a child to switch sides and join you in giving the other children a special experience.
Keep in mind that the children will be exhausted after their city rally. Provide refreshments, for example in the form of a small cake buffet. Now keep your eyes and ears open: What is the mood like, how are the children talking about the tasks they just completed? Of course, you can also ask them specifically what they particularly liked and what they didn't like so much. Then everyone will already be looking forward to your next scavenger hunt for kids!
Equipped with the above information, you have already taken a big step towards creating your scavenger hunt for kids. However, you will have noticed that there are many things to consider and that developing your scavenger hunt takes a lot of time. There is also the question of whether the participants will like their scavenger hunt puzzles in the end. Therefore, it is worth considering whether you want to plan and organize the scavenger hunt for kids yourself or whether you would prefer to use a tried and tested concept. In the following table, we compare the advantages and disadvantages of both options.
| Organize yourself Pros & cons self-organization |
Book tickets Pros & cons ticket booking |
| Very time consuming | Simple booking |
|
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| Paper only | Intuitive web application |
| Free of charge (except material costs) | Not free of charge |
| Customizable | Not customizable |
A self-organized children's scavenger hunt is almost free of charge. The only costs here are for the materials. City rally apps vary greatly in both price and quality and usually range from € 2 to 30 per participant. The treasure hunt from myCityHunt costs € 12,99 per person.
You plan the route and scavenger hunt tasks - and off you go! The children receive clues in the form of small riddles or directions. In this way, they gradually approach the destination. Here a treasure awaits them, consisting of sweets or toys. Learn more about how to organize a scavenger hunt for kids here.
In a scavenger hunt for children, it is important that the puzzles are not too difficult. Craft tasks, word games and photo tasks are popular. To avoid boredom, the tasks should be varied!
Scavenger Hunt
Treasure Hunt
Escape Game
