Ideas for an Ultimate Treasure Hunt
Treasure hunts are highly underrated: Though they are glamorized in movies, few people engage in treasure hunts for parties and other events. Instead of throwing a typical office party in the break room or birthday party in the back yard, organize a loot-hunting, competitive scavenger hunt. Provide each team with a map, some clues and a camera.
Choose a Good Site
Where you hold the treasure hunt plays a critical role in its success. Go to a college campus, which has a wide variety of different buildings, outdoor areas and various hiding places. For children, use the local park and place clues in sandboxes, along swing sets and on top of slides. Go to the mall for a teenager treasure hunt and ask shop owners to house the clues. Other potential sites include botanical gardens, haunted venues, state parks, historic buildings and amusement parks.
Select a Theme
Though optional, many great treasure hunts are based on a theme. Questexperiences.com suggests a western theme, ancient Egypt, medieval, pirate, circus and even classic Hollywood as potential ideas. Use language on the maps and clues which correlates with the theme, like inserting "yars" for pirate-themed hunts and Elvis quotes for classic Hollywood hunts.
Make Ancient-Looking Maps
Take a zoomed-in map of the area printed from MapQuest or GoogleMaps, and recreate the map on a separate sheet of paper. Use calligraphy to hand-write street names and locations. Also sketch in trees and other prominent buildings on the map. Use tattered looking paper and consider burning the edges to make it look authentic. Treasurehuntfan.com recommends using brown paper from lunch bags, in addition to soaking it in tea-infused water for a few minutes and letting it dry. When the map is created, roll the paper into a scroll and tie it with ribbon.
Use Photographs
To make the event memorable, make each team to take a picture to prove each clue was found. For example, if the scavenger hunt takes place at the mall, instruct one person in the party to take a picture with a feather boa and tiara for a clue in the kids' jewelry shop. At amusement parks, make people take pictures with various characters which may hold clues.
Instead of planting clues, provide each team with a checklist of pictures they must take at various places. A scavenger hunt on a college campus could require students to take a picture with the head of a department or playing basketball on the courts. The first team that provides all pictures wins.
Fill the Chest with Age-Appropriate Gifts
Because few teenagers will be impressed with a chest filled with action figures and coloring books, find treasure gifts they will enjoy. For teenagers, get music gift certificates, movie tickets, spa kits or simply offer a night out for the winners. Adults would be pleased to find wine and restaurant gift certificates. For a corporate treasure hunt, offer a lunch outing to the winning group or an extra vacation day.
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