4th
of July Bingo Set - Downloadable!
American Independence
Themed Scavenger Hunt Lists Collection - DOWNLOAD
American
Revolution Treasure Hunt Puzzles Package
4th of July Scavenger Hunt Ideas
Thinking about planning a 4th of July or American revolution themed scavenger hunt for your family or classroom? Here are some things to consider to ensure that everyone not only has a great time, but they commend you for a great activity.
First
off, what's the difference between a 'scavenger hunt' and a 'treasure
hunt?' These terms, you'll find, are erroneously interchangeable and are
not the same things. Treasure hunts involve a series of locations to visit
in an effort to arrive at a final destination where 'treasure' might be
located, a party or any other type of reward. A 'scavenger' hunt, however,
relies upon a list that can be 'checked off' in any particular order.
The list might contain objects to collect, photos to take or other actions
to be completed. Typically, point values are offered for different items
on the list (the more difficult the task, the more points are typically
awarded.) What that list looks like, however, is up to your own creativity.
Scavenger hunt lists go BEYOND just trying to find random items. For example,
these lists (which come with a Bingo set and a full treasure hunt) have
you look for items as well as clues to solve puzzles: CLICK
HERE.
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Now that we've established WHAT a scavenger hunt is, here are some handy tips to ensure that your guests have a great time. 1. Give attention to your actual list. Make it look nice. Your guests will be carrying the lists around throughout the activity. Give them something fun or interesting to work with. 2. Make sure that any boundaries are clearly established and communicated. For scavenger hunts involving larger areas, it's helpful to make copies of a map of the area with the boundaries clearly marked with a highlighter marker. |
3. Provide enough time for your players to obtain approximately 3/4 of the items on the list. The point isn't to finish the list, but rather to complete as many items as one can on the list. If your list is too short, you'll find the players that are doing well will be tempted to slow down to pace themselves more. The kind of energy isn't always what makes for a fun scavenger hunt. Provide a healthy list with a lot of items and you'll find your players rushing until the last second to complete their list.
4. Be hard line with the rules so that the players don't have to. If you tell the players 60 minutes, then don't allow a team to turn in their list after 61 minutes. Those that came in on time will appreciate you playing policemen.
5. Have fun putting your teams together. Of course you can always allow the players to choose their teams, but sometimes it's fun to make it more random. There are multiple ways of doing this - here's our favorite: Figure out how many players you'd like on a team (4 is often ideal for one team.) On separate sheets of paper, in groups of four, come up with different American Revolution concepts/ideas/words, enough for each player to draw one. For example, if you have 12 players and you want them to randomly get into three teams, on 12 small pieces of paper write George Washington (on 4), British Colonies (on 4) and American Revolution (on the final 4.) Pass on the small pieces of paper, after you've folded them up so they can't see. When you say 'GO' everyone opens their pieces of paper, reads what's on it and then proceeds to find their other teammates. Once all four teammates have been found by eachother, they come running to you to grab the list and take off on the hunt. It's a fun way to start the hunt. (NOTE: If you have a number of players not divisible by 3 evenly, no problem. Just make sure to have enough pieces of paper for every player to have one, duplicating a word/concept as needed. For example you might have 5 George Washingtons instead of 4, etc.)
Don't want to create your own scavenger hunt lists? Try these - CLICK HERE (also comes with a Bingo set and a full treasure hunt)
