Outdoor Scavenger Hunt for Kids: Ideas and Tips for a Fun Adventure

It’s not easy to plan a fun outdoor activity for children. A nature scavenger hunt can be a perfect way to have fun and motivate them to spend more time outside. If that sounds interesting, here is everything you should know about preparing an outdoor scavenger hunt for kids!

Contents:

• What Is a Scavenger Hunt?
• How to Do an Outdoor Scavenger Hunt for Kids? Basic Steps
• 5 Creative Outdoor Scavenger Hunt Ideas for Kids
• 5 Free Printable Outdoor Scavenger Hunts for Kids
• FAQs

What Is a Scavenger Hunt?

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A scavenger hunt is a game that can have single or multiple participants that play as individuals or groups. The gamemaster tasks the teams with finding certain items in a pre-set area. That could be anywhere, from the inside of the house to the garden or any outdoor environment. You can organize a scavenger hunt in parks or any other locations, as long as they are safe for the participants.

Participants can look for items that are in their natural environment or things that someone planted there to find. For example, you can ask your kid to find a pinecone in the park. Or you can come up with an idea to place a small wooden box under a tree and tell the participants to look for a treasure.

If there’s a single participant, the game ends when they locate all items. And if there are teams, it’s more fun since the winner is the team that completes all tasks on the list first.

How to Do an Outdoor Scavenger Hunt for Kids? Basic Steps

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A successful outdoor scavenger hunt for kids takes time to prepare. If you’ve never done it before, these steps will help you to ensure everything goes smoothly:

1. Will you have a theme for the outdoor scavenger hunt? If it’s your kid’s birthday, you can hide some presents and make searching for them fun. Holiday-themed hunting can also be fun. You can always stick to the basics and write a list of items that kids can find outdoors.
2. Pick a location. If you don’t have any other way, a backyard scavenger hunt could be an option. It’s also possible to increase the search area to the entire park, neighborhood, or home. Always keep in mind that children can easily access the entire area and their safety won’t be compromised.
3. Create a list of the wanted items. It’s best to work your way backward, so your first task is to prepare the goals of the scavenger hunt. The “treasure” could be items found in nature, such as leaves, pinecones, or trees. You can spice things up by finding the items you’d bring to the environment and hiding them in the desired place.
4. Prepare clues if necessary. You can come up with hints or clues that will help children find the items easily. Don’t hesitate to get creative with the clues—if you have enough inspiration, you can even rhyme.
5. Establish the rules and prizes. What will be the time restriction for the hunt? If children have a school day tomorrow, an hour might be enough. The rulebook should also include the importance of fair play and safety. All participants should promise to play fair and maintain order while they explore the environment looking for hidden items. As for prizes, they could be certificates or candies. You can come up with unique awards for “best working together” or “player with the top smile.”
6. Use the Findmykids app for safety. Ensure the safety of your child by using the Findmykids app during the scavenger hunt. The app allows you to set safe zones and receive notifications if your child leaves the designated area, providing peace of mind while they explore.

Download the Findmykids app today to keep your children safe during all their outdoor adventures!

The only thing left now is to send invitations and ensure you have enough lists for all participants.

5 Creative Outdoor Scavenger Hunt Ideas for Kids

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The critical thing to understand is that you need to adapt the scavenger hunt to the children’s age. For example, clues and items to find should be simple for a toddler and parents should do the hunt together with them.

Preschoolers can walk around on their own as long as they watch them, while high-school students will look for more complex clues to keep them engaged.

Another note is that you can tailor the hunt to boys or girls, depending on who the participants are. With all this in mind, here are some great outdoor scavenger hunt ideas you can use!

1. Collect As You Go

In this scavenger hunt, it’ll be necessary for children to collect the items they find. For example, you can ask them to search for a purple flower or orange leaves if it’s the fall outside. Kids can also search for rocks of different colors or anything else that comes to mind.

We recommend using egg cartons or simple boxes where they’d collect things. You should make sure there are sufficient items of each for all participants to ensure that everything goes by in a friendly atmosphere. For example, if you ask them to find a purple flower, make sure there are at least several in the yard or nearby. The winner of the hunt is the one who gets all the items back to you.

2. Use Seasons for Inspiration

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The great thing about using season and color-themed scavenger hunts is that these activities are perfect for any time of the year. Here’s how we see it:

• Spring. You can ask kids to look for budding flowers or birds that are appearing again in your neighborhood because they came back after the winter.
• Summer. It’s a wise idea to head to the beach during the summer since you can use that environment to give a great seasonal-themed hunt to your children.
• Fall. You can hide some orange pumpkins or other fruits and veggies around the backyards the children will explore. Fallen branches or pinecones are some other items to include in the search.
• Winter. The task can be finding a small snowman that you built or snowflakes of a particular size or shape. If you ask kids to make a snowman first, you can send them on a scavenger hunt to find clothing items for it, such as a scarf, hat, and others.

3. Use Adjectives to Give Tasks

You don’t have to look for a specific item in a clue because it’s good enough to provide a pointer in a certain direction. Here’s how you can use item descriptions to ask the children to look for unique items:

• Smooth. Rocks usually have a smooth surface, so the task shouldn’t be too hard.
• Dark or bright. Ask the participants to bring one of these items each.
• Fragrant or odorless. Children could look for an item with a strong smell, which doesn’t necessarily have to be pleasant. Also, you could ask them to find something completely free from scent.
• Big, shiny, or sharp. You can play around with other item descriptions. However, with items that are heavy or sharp, make sure to emphasize safety since you don’t want anyone to get injured by accident.

4. Create an Actual Map

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Here’s how you can spice up an outdoor scavenger hunt—design an actual map of the treasure! This will take a little effort since it will be necessary to get a precise map of the environment to avoid any confusion. You can give maps to different items to ensure the game keeps going.

This is a great activity for preschool children, and also excellent if you think your kids should practice navigation.

5. Photo-Based Scavenger Hunt

This will require using their mobile phones or getting everyone an old-fashioned camera. Instead of finding or collecting items, the tasks include taking pictures of the given items. For example, taking a photo of small rocks on the lawn might be one goal. Or you can ask children to go to the park and look for a squirrel and take their photo. You’ll be the judge who decides if the photo meets the standards and rules of the game.

5 Free Printable Outdoor Scavenger Hunts for Kids

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You could be in a rush and don’t have much time to come up with a scavenger hunt concept. We come to your rescue by offering the following printable charts that children could follow outside. Here’s how to spice up the game and make it great!

1. Basic Black and White Hunt

Here’s an outdoor scavenger hunt for all those who want to keep things simple. It’s easy to print the plan even on a printer that doesn’t support colors. You have cute and clear images of over 15 items to look for, and it’ll be loads of fun.

Credit: pinterest.com

2. Tick What You Find

The next suggestion is a bit different approach since it’ll be necessary to mark the found items with a tick or an “X.” The items to look for are fairly simple, but be careful and go with your children. That will ensure they don’t get caught in the spider web or have any other mishaps during the experience.

Credit: pinterest.com

3. It’s All About Gratitude

You want to teach the children to be good to nature, and being thankful for it is the perfect move. That’s why you won’t focus the scavenger hunt on actual items but rather get creative with the following tasks. This will make your child think and truly become aware of the environment.

As a bonus, it could be fun for the entire afternoon and you’ll have lots of topics to talk about!

Credit: pinterest.com

4. Take Things to the Beach

If you have a beach in your area, that’s a true blessing. Alternatively, you can use this scavenger hunt when on vacation. It’s an excellent way to guarantee your child will have loads of fun, even if you spend an entire day at the beach.

Credit: etsy.com

5. Have Fun During the Fall

Here’s a season-themed scavenger hunt that will work perfectly during the fall. Your child will look for leaves of different colors and shapes, birds, animals, and plants. You can also talk about how the leaves fell off the trees and when they’ll grow again, which is an excellent way to teach kids about nature.

Credit: pinterest.com

Related: Fun Outdoor Games and Activities for Kids.

The best thing about outdoor scavenger hunts is that you can turn on your creativity to the max! There’s an endless range of topics to use. Whether you want to make the easiest hunt for toddlers or a challenging activity for the entire family, a little bit of time and effort will get you a long way.

We suggest beginning from your backyard or a small area nearby for the first outdoor scavenger hunt. Once you become more experienced, you can expand the location and make hunting more complex.

And don’t forget about the Findmykids app! This app allows you to always know the whereabouts of your children and ensures they are safe while they explore. It’s an invaluable tool for peace of mind during such activities.

Do you have any experience with scavenger hunts? Which themes and types of scavenger hunts were the most fun for your family? Don’t hesitate to share in the comments—we are looking forward to hearing more ideas for these fun activities!

FAQs

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What are some good scavenger hunt clues for outside?

Here are some suggestions you can use during the hunt:

1. My tail is fluffy and wide and I sometimes play under the tree. (Squirrel)
2. Some are flat, others are round, they could be big or they might be small. You can collect most of the ground, and you’ll be impressed by their color variety. (Rocks)
3. I’m often in a park or next to a playground. Some sit on me to rest, and parents often use this place to monitor children while playing. (Bench)
4. I’m light and fluffy, but I bring rain and can make you wet if you aren’t careful. You can find me if you look up next to the Sun. (Clouds)
5. Some are tall, some are short. Most change colors in the Autumn and look bare in the winter. I look the best in the Summer when I’m green and full of branches. (Tree)

What are good scavenger hunt questions for kids?

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These questions might get your children thinking:

1. Which creatures march in groups to find food, and they are mighty compared to their size? Hint: You find them on logs, under rocks, or in grassy areas. (Ants)
2. What is usually in the garden or public parks, and bees love to land on it? Hint: I can be a beautiful rose. (Flower)
3. What accessory or gadget do you use to drive away the darkness? Hint: It activates on your command and it’s available on your mobile phone. (Flashlight)

How do you plan a treasure hunt for 10-year-old kids?

The key lies in preparation, so begin by picking a suitable location. Think about the items your children can find, but make the tasks challenging enough for the hunt to last a while. You can also hide some items in particular spots, and then prepare clues for kids to find them.

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