Category Archives: Scavenger Hunts for Kids

Trivia Night

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You’re holding a trivia night with numerous people, however there are always a few challenges surrounding it.
1) If there are teams, and you are calling out the question, and the team that raises their hand first gets to answer, what do you do if multiple people raise their hand to answer the question first? Who gets to answer first?
2) If you are making individuals write out their answers individually to the questions, this requires time to collect team answers and mark the answers which wastes the time overall of people taking part in trivia night

Why not use a quick and easy program like TextClues to go through trivia night? TextClues is a text-message based program that can run on any mobile phone, so anybody with a cell phone can participate on the fun during Trivia Night :) With TextClues, you can have all of the questions and answers set up via the TextClues website. All *you* will need to do as the host is grab the cell phone numbers of participating individuals and away you go!

The best way to make this work is to have a few different rounds. One round can be trivia questions, another round can be “Name that song”, where you play a clip of a song and individuals need to figure out the title of the song. You can also use the Real-Time Dashboard on the website to determine who entered in the correct answers at the end of Trivia Night, if points are given based on the team with the most correct answers.

Let’s show you how this can be done. I’m using the word “pass” as an alternate answer to each question, so if the team does not know the answer to a question, they can type “pass” and  still continue on with trivia night

Question: Welcome to Trivia Night. Here is your first question. In what year did the War of 1812 end?
Answer: 1815, pass
Question: What was the name of the first Beatle’s album?
Answer: Anthology, pass

<song portion of trivia night>
Host: Now, we will play a clip of each song and you must type in the correct title

Question: Name song 1 <play clip of a song>
Answer: Sexy back
Question: Name song 2 <play clip of a song>
Answer: Hey Jude

At the end of it all, you can go through the answers with the crowd, while also looking at the Real-Time dashboard to see who got the most questions right.  Pretty easy to set up right? :) Try out TextClues for your next trivia night, and you won’t want to stop using it for future nights because we make it *that* easy!

Summer Camp Text Scavenger Hunt

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Camp CreekA scavenger hunt is a great way to get kids aquainted to a new camp. They can be used for camp orientation or to get the kids to explore areas of the camp they have never been before. You can ask them questions about landmarks and get them to learn what the camp has to offer.

You can use TextClues to send the clues by text message, but just make sure you have cell phone reception at the camp!

Here’s an example hunt that needs a compass:

Clue: Head north for 10 minutes until you reach water. What’s the name of this creek? Reply with the answer.

Answer: Five mile creek

Clue: How many swinging ropes are attached to the tree nearby?

Answer: 3, three

Clue: Good. Now head west upstream. How many kayaks are on the bank?

Answer: 11, eleven

Clue: Good. Walk a little further and cross over the bridge to the other side. What’s carved on the top of the totem pole?

Answer: Eagle

Clue: Good. Follow the path and when you reach the fork in the road look down and tell me what’s growing below the sign.

Answer: MushroomsMushrooms

Clue: Yes. Alright, go right at the fork and keep walking until you reach a clearing in the forest.  What’s in the middle of the clearing?

Answer: fire pit, pit

Clue: We’re going to use that for the bonfire tonight. What kind of tree has white peeling bark?

Answer: Birch, Birch tree

Clue: Good. Find one and peel a bit of the dried bark off. We’ll use that for fire kindling later. Head to the flag pole. What year is engraved on the plaque?

Answer: 1973

Winning Message:  That’s when the camp was founded. Now follow the trail east. When you reach the lodge go inside for lunch!

Museum Scavenger Hunt

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Interested in a fun and educational day out with your kids? Well with a little bit of time you can create a fun day they won’t forget. The only problem is they might keep asking for another scavenger hunt as soon as possible!

Museums are great places for kids to learn because they are so interesting once you get the kids engaged. TextClues is a great new way to use technology to get kids interested in the exhibits and excited about learning. It allows you to create clues that will be sent to any mobile phone using text messages. When you answer a clue correctly the next clue is sent and when you answer it incorrectly it tells you to “try again”. You can see it in action using the demo.

This allows you to create a brand new experience for your kids that is sure to amaze.  They will be wondering how you did it. You can even say that the questions are coming from an adventurer who needs answers to his/her important questions.

It will only take a short visit to the museum beforehand to prepare the adventure. Quickly go through the museum and pick out interesting facts that you know your child would be interested in. If you are going with a few children then you might want to pick out different clues for each one. You will be able to enter all these clues into the computer in minutes then schedule the hunt to start when you’re heading to the museum.

As you walk through the museum with the kids you can enjoy each exhibit together and they will be excitedly looking for the answer to their next clue.

Here’s an example of how a hunt might start:

Clue: Hi, my name is Dr. Swill. I am an explorer and I need your help! Could you find some answers for me at the museum today? Please tell me “yes”

Answer: Yes

Clue: Perfect! When you first walk into the door you will see a big dinosaur skeleton. What is that dinosaur’s name?

Answer: trex, tyrannosaurus

Clue: Ahh just as I expected. Now can you find the name of the woman who helped Louis and Clark along their journey? …

Learning can be fun too

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Homework and studying aren’t normally the number one things on a kid’s list of “fun things to do”. However, I believe that there can be so many different ways to incorporate learning and studying into something that kids could in fact enjoy.  Typically, when we try to test kids on content, it is always through pen and paper.  Why not use something like a text messaging tool, or a scavenger hunt through text messages so that:
1) One less thing to print out or write up (and hey, better for the environment too!)
2) Make your kids think that it is sort of like a game that they are playing, but really they are also learning at the same time.

You’re probably wondering how all of this would work, aren’t you?

Say, for example, you know that your kids have a math test or science test one day at school.  You can use a tool like TextClues to schedule a mini study/test session for them, but all through their cell phone! This way it makes it so easy for you to set up (just have to input questions into the easy to use TextClues tool) and kids can provide answers through their cell phone.  AND, you can see how your kids are doing via the real-time dashboard that shows how your kids are answering the questions and you can see where they need to study some more.  Best of all, you also don’t need to take the time to review all of the answers because the tool would do it for you!

Let’s give a quick example of how this would work:

Clue: You’ve got that upcoming test for school soon. Let’s see how prepared you are :) What is the volume of a cube that is 10 x 10 x 10? Reply with number answer only.
Answer: 1000
Clue: Great job! What is the square root of 9?
Answer: 3
Clue: Excellent! This property of gold allows it to be hammered into thin sheet and different shapes.
Answer: Malleable, malleability
Clue: You’ll do great if you keep on studying! :)

This is just a short example, but you can see that various different types of educational questions can be asked through text.

How would you make this a little bit more fun, perhaps for a younger child, to learn vocabulary or words?  You can make a scavenger hunt so that it will bring your kids from one location in the house to another, requiring that your child spells out the various words correctly.

Here’s another very quick example:

Clue: I keep food cool before you bring it to school. Spell it out and head there.
Answer: Refrigerator
Clue: Great! Now open the refrigerator, and find out what we are eating for dinner. Reply with the answer.
Answer: Casserole
Clue: Enjoy!

Last but not least, you can even use the tool to help kids learn another language, example Spanish or French.

Clue: How would you be greeted in the morning, in Spanish?
Answer: Buenos dias
Clue: Buenos dias to you too! How would you be greeted in the morning, in French?
Answer: Bon matin
Clue: And good morning to you :)

As you can see, a text messaging tool for educational purposes can be fun and interactive! Try TextClues out today and see how much more willing your kids will be to study at the same time :)

Church Youth Group Activities: Bible Text Message Quiz

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Bible

A great interactive way to get your church youth group reading the bible and learning about the faith is a TextClues bible quiz. You’ll need everyone to have a cell phone so they can send/receive text messages. Then create a scavenger hunt with clues that tell them where to read in the bible to answer.

The great thing about this is everyone proceeds at their own pace. Also it feels less like a test and more like a fun learning experience.

Here’s an example of a bible quiz with an Easter theme:

Clue: What did Jesus use in the Last Supper as a symbol of his body? (Matthew 26:26)
Answer: bread
Clue: What was Judas given to betray Jesus? (Matthew 26:14-15)
Answer: coins, silver
Clue: What color was the robe they placed on Jesus? (Mark 15:17)
Answer: purple
Clue: What was Jesus’ crown made of? (Matthew 27:29)
Answer: thorns
Clue: What was Jesus hung on? (John 19:17-18)
Answer: crossJesus on the cross
Clue: What did they use to put Jesus on the cross? (John 20:25)
Answer: nails
Clue: What was rolled away from the tomb on Easter morning? (Matthew 27:59-60)
Answer: stone, rock
Clue: What did they find in the tomb on the 3rd day after Jesus died? (Luke 24:3)
Answer: nothing, empty
Clue: Who denied Jesus 3 times? (Matthew 26:75)
Answer: Peter

Click here to try the free demo on your cell phone.

Ideas for a kid’s birthday party

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It is your turn to host an event for kids (e.g.: your child’s birthday party, a neighbourhood get together, or a fun fair, just to name a few events) and you don’t know what to do… Well, what do kids like the most? Games and winning prizes, of course! :) With a site like textclues.com, it enables you to cater both to the little and big kids by making a scavenger hunt adventure.  Scavenger hunts can be fun for all age-ranges, but using textclues.com, little kids will feel more important and like a “big kid” by using their parents devices (i.e.: their cell phone) to play a game. And, older kids will feel important to be able to use their cool gadgets to participate in some games.  So, how would this all work? A few things you need to think about:

Do you want one large prize at the end, or a few small prizes in between the hunt?

This fact will more just help you with deciding the type of clues you may want to create in between the scavenger hunt.  If it is a big prize for the winner at the end, the clues can be a build up to the winning prize.  If it is a few prizes in between, you’ll have to think of clever spots to hide these prizes, while incorporating them into the clues!
Example: “You’re getting close to winning the secret treasure! Your pot of gold awaits you where you can find three posts together within an “M”.

Do kids work in teams or individually?
Depending on the number of kids participating, this may be the determining factor.  However, even with 4 or more kids, groups can work in your favour as it allows kids to also work together as a team and co-operate with one another to help get through the hunt.

Do you want the hunt to run like a competition where there is only one (team of) winner(s) or everyone running in the hunt will win a prize?
Personally, because all kids love prizes, I think each kid should win *something*, even if it is a smaller prize than the grand prize winner.

Should kids all be running the hunt at the same time or should one child or team run at a time?
If all kids are running the hunt at the same time, it would be pretty straight forward because the person that reaches the last clue first will be the winner.  If you decide to have the kids run through the scavenger hunt individually, you can easily time each team or child to see who has the fastest time to finish the race.

Another idea that can add a little twist to your scavenger hunt can be as follows: Before beginning the hunt, tell each individual or team that at each clue station, they must pick up an object from the location. This means that you will need to ensure that there are an equal amount of objects at each clue location as the number of people/teams running in the race.  At the end of the race, you can do something silly like “The last requirement before potentially winning the prize is each team or individual must dress up one person as best as possible with all of the items picked up along the race”

Or, even other obstacles and games can be incorporated into the scavenger hunt.  For example, at the end of the race, there can be a puzzle that the kids must put together prior to winning; or, perhaps the first team that can throw 5 bean bags into a basket from a certain area on the field will be the winners! This will allow the teams/individuals that perhaps were running a bit slower in the race to catch up with the rest of the teams, making the possibility of winning for anyone! :)

As you can see, there are so many different ways to spice up a scavenger hunt for kids and make it just that much more exciting.  Go ahead, and try one out today with textclues.com.  Your kids wont be disappointed, and they will be asking you for more in no time ;)

Scavenger Hunt for Kids

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Ready to Go!

The textclues service is perfect for creating a scavenger hunt for kids. You can input all your clues online ahead of time and start the hunt whenever the kids are getting restless and bored. You can use it as quality time with the young ones. Since all the clues and answers are taken care of automatically on the phone you can also use it to free up some alone time for yourself.

If they don’t have mobile phones of their own yet you can let them use yours for the hunt. Kids really find it exciting when they are receiving a hunt directly tailored towards them through a phone. If you haven’t had a chance to check out our textclues product take a look at the demo!

Be warned, once you send them on one hunt they’ll be asking for more!

 

 

Setting up the Scavenger Hunt

Setting up a simple scavenger hunt for your kids is easy with textclues. The first step is coming up with the clues and answers for the hunt.

For this step grab a peice of paper and go through each room in your house one by one. In each room come up with as many clues as you can. Keep them relatively simple to make sure the kids will be able to figure it out. Clues like “how many wheels are on the desk chair” and “how many drawers are on the cupboard” seem simple but make great clues. Especially on the first few hunts you want to keep the clues easy. You should be able to come up with 10 – 20 clues for each room in no time.

Where to Next!

Next head to your computer and open up textclues. You’re going to want to make at least two scavenger hunts because your kids will be asking for more! Simply write down a clue and answer for one room then pick a clue from a room across the house next. Picking rooms far from each other will help the hunt last a little longer. You’ll have a few hunts set up before you know it.

Now when your kids are getting restless and bored you’ll be ready with a ready made scavenger hunt. Simply type in your child’s mobile phone number or your own and start the hunt. You should explain the concept to the children the first time they’re doing the hunt. It really couldn’t be easier! I always like to end the scavenger hunt by giving them a prize.

If you have any questions for us or any experiences you would like to share do so below!