Host a Camera Scavenger Hunt

Gather great outdoor memories at your next special event by getting everyone taking photos.

Average Rating:	1 2 3 4 5
Participant Age:	Under 7, 7 to 12, 12 and up
Approximate Cost:	$0, $10 to $100
Duration:	1 to 60 minutes
Difficulty:	1 2 3 4 5
Physical Challenge:	1 2 3 4 5

Cameras
Chalk (optional)
Clipboards or temporary ones made from corrugated cardboard
Flags, scarves or any brightly colored item (to show boundaries of the hunt)
Pencils or crayons
Scavenger hunt lists
String or yarn

Ask everyone to bring a camera or phone that takes photos

You can use disposable cameras, but they create waste and usually have limited photos you can take.

This is a great activity for birthday parties, so in the invitations, ask each person to bring a camera. You might gather some back-up cameras from friends to help those who forget.

Prepare a scavenger hunt list per guest

If the guests are younger than seven, it's better if the list shows photos and words, not just words. You could use our Backyard Scavenger Hunt list.

It helps the guests if you put the lists on a clipboard and attach a pencil or crayon with a string. If you don't have enough clipboards, you can make temporary ones from corrugated cardboard.

If you make your own list, be specific and imaginative

Be descriptive:

winged bug rather than just bug
open flower rather than just a flower.

You can ask for scavenger hunt photos that let the participants use their imaginations such as:

something fuzzy
an object that is your favorite color
a chalk drawing you just made

You can ask for photos that test their camera skills, such as:

something moving
a silhouette
a shadow
something zoomed in but not blurry

Include on the list behaviors of other people

Maybe they can take photos of each other doing various behaviors such as:

a person swinging on a swing
someone laughing for real
someone being kind
two people dancing

Maybe they must take three photos of the birthday kid.

Kick off the scavenger hunt

You might pair up smaller children with an adult, or have older kids work in pairs. That way, if they wander out of view, you know everyone is safe.

But that brings up a key point - you must now set the boundaries for the hunt. Do they have to stay in your backyard? If you are at a park, what are the boundaries? If it is not super obvious, you might tie flags on trees or poles to remind them of the boundaries - to keep things safe and fair.

Also, tell them how much time they have, and what will be the signal to come back. Perhaps you will ring a bell or hit a gong!

Let the festivities begin!
While everyone is out hunting, you might have a few adults patrolling to help answer questions. Some kids will be more savvy with cameras than others, so you might need to teach children how to look on the camera to see if their photo was taken.

Call everyone back

It's great to have some kind of acknowledgement for everyone's efforts - so this is a good time to pull out a special snack or make medals from recycled metal lids attached to ribbon.

Make a slideshow of everyone's findings

If you have a tech-savvy person at the party, you could ask them if they could make a funny slideshow for everyone to watch when it is time to eat cake.

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Practice Tracking Skills

Are you good at watching for signs on the ground? That's called tracking.
Explore with a Backyard Scavenger Hunt

Create a list of natural items appropriate for the season and location, and see how many your children can find.
Make a Geocache Trail

Use a satellite-linked location finder called a GPS receiver to track down boxes filled with "treasures" of all kinds.
Host a Camera Scavenger Hunt

Gather great outdoor memories at your next special event by getting everyone taking photos.
Plant a Party Favor

Have the children paint their own pots, plant flowers, and take them home!

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