Digital Scavenger Hunt

The Solution for Bored Kids

 Are the kids bored or getting on your nerves?  If so, I have an interactive scavenger hunt for teenagers.  Nowadays, most the kids’ time is spent on some type of device.  Always on social media, but never really interacting with others.  I don’t know about you, but at times I struggle to find a way to connect with my nieces and nephews outside their devices.  So I created a Digital Scavenger Hunt. We enjoyed it and I think your bunch will too.

I don’t have any children but my 7 nieces and nephews are my world.  A few years ago they were all on Spring break and I wanted to do something special with them.  Now my mind was saying movies, water park, arcades but my wallet was not saying the same thing.  So I came up with “Auntie’s Spring Break Challenge” and it ended up being fun and even competitive.  They are already on their phones and tablets 24/7, why not put them to good use.  We were able to make memories for virtually no money. 

Also, I’m all about birthing creativity (Read my blog about how I believe Crafting can change your life).  Crafting and creativity help you be more creative in real-world problem-solving.  I think your teens will enjoy this scavenger hunt idea.  It also could be fun with adults.

Digital Scavenger Hunt Objective:

It’s a five-day event where you text the participants a challenge each day on their digital devices.  They have to reply to the text with a photo of their completed challenge to get points.  The person at the end of the game with the most points wins.  My prize was $10.  The older the teenagers, the higher the prize should be. 

How to Play:

The day before the scavenger hunt starts, text the teens (or any age participants) the rules and what they can be expecting. 

My rules:

• The activity will be sent out via text every morning at 10am.  
• You have until 10pm that day to submit your entry (Because I’m an adult that has a real job and have to go to sleep:) 
• First come, First Serve for activities that are time-sensitive
• Have fun and be creative!

Daily Activity:

Day 1: Take a picture of someone wearing a green shirt.  It can’t be you or a family member.  You get a bonus point if you are in the picture.

My take-away: This day was hilarious.  I really didn’t expect the kiddos to go for the bonus point but they did.  My nephew Kristian was out with friends, saw a random man in a green shirt and asked him to take a picture with him.  Day one, my nieces and nephews also taught me that you have to be very specific with the instructions.  Initially, the activity didn’t include the “It can’t be you or family.”  So to my surprise, several of them went right to their closet, put on a green shirt and sent me a selfie of themselves.  Nope no fun, so I changed it.  Then very close to the deadline, I started to receive all these excuses from each kid explaining why they were gonna be late getting their photo in on time.  Nope, not taking that either.  Finally, right before the deadline, I receive this picture from two of them.  OMG.  They took a photo with a guy on tv wearing a green shirt.  Goofballs!

There was no time to tell them it didn’t count.  Also, these two were working as a team.  Do they split the points or both get the points?  Needless to say, learn from my mistakes.  Be very specific when giving details.  LOL

Day 2: Build a fort and send me a picture of it to get a point.  If you make it a KU themed fort you get an extra point.  The best fort wins the bonus point.

My take-away: Let me just tell you, everybody stepped up their game for Day 2.    These kids were flipping mattresses, tying sheets to window blinds.  One fort had a storage area under the blankets.  For her bonus point, she put a random, non-KU related red and blue gift bag in that “storage area.”  Creative.  Another one even submitted a video showing a bunk bed fort made by flipping the couch over, had the KU game playing on the tv, and had the KU fight song playing in the background.  Of course, they won Day 2 LOL.  I wanted to say sorry to all the parents, but I later found out they were helping the kids to win.

We’re a University of Kansas family.  Most of the family graduated from KU (not me, I was a rebel LOL), so I thought it would give the game a fun flair.  I thought it would make it harder, but it didn’t.  Every kiddo went for the extra point.  Have fun customizing your scavenger hunt to your liking and family favorites.

Day 3: Collect as many pennies as you can.  Each penny is worth 1 point.  You get an extra point if you find a penny with your birth year.  Bonus point to the person who finds the oldest penny.

via GIPHY

My take-away: Piggybanks were being raided.  I’m sure all the mom’s purses were raided and all couches were checked for pennies.  I received one photo of a big pile of pennies and there was no way I could count them from that picture.  So once again, I had to add another rule.  Count the pennies and send the total count when you send your picture.  Also, one kiddo found both his birth year and had the oldest penny…fun.

Day 4: Get the parents day…Get a funny picture of your parents for one point.  Each additional picture is an additional point.  The best picture gets a bonus point.  

My take-away: Boy did I have some laughs on Day 4.  The kiddos were just snapping all day.  I’m sure by now their parents hate me.  My sister text me and said, what is their challenge today because they keep taking pictures of me.  LOL  

You could take all the pictures and make a fun collage later.  Or you can just use the pictures as blackmail later down the road. Just kidding.  I also noticed that the older kids were losing interest.  The teenagers had jobs and summer school to juggle.  Be mindful of their time.  Also, make the prize worth it.  I don’t think $10 was enough for sixteen-year-olds who could make $10 themselves.

Day 5: Jesus Day.  Send the group as many scriptures you can find about God’s love.  Each scripture can only be used once, so first come first serve.  Reply to the whole group so we all know what scriptures have been taken.

My take-away: If you’ve been reading my posts, you know I blog about crafts and Jesus (check out my post here about allowing God to use you).  We’re a big Christian, ministry family, so I couldn’t let the week go by without a positive message. What better message than God loves each of us?  This activity helped them learn how to search for bible scriptures, even if it was just googling “God’s love.”  Each scripture they read planted a seed of encouragement in their heart.  I was one proud Auntie to see all the scriptures being submitted.

All in all, it’s a fun, inexpensive way to bond with your kiddos.  At the end of the week, my nieces and nephews all thanked me for doing it.  We still laugh about it today, several years later.  

Game Tips: 

• The Digital Scavenger Hunt can be played with any age group.  Make the challenges easier for the little one and more extensive challenges for adults.
• Keep the level of surprise.  Don’t share the upcoming day’s challenge ahead of time.  
• The game can be converted into a 5 hour challenge where participants get a new clue every hour.
• Make a big deal about the winner.  Post it on social media, or have a presentation in front of the family or group. Heats up the competition.

Digital Scavenger Hunt

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Digital Scavenger Hunt Objective:

It's a five-day event where you text the participants a challenge each day on their digital devices.  They have to reply to the text with a photo of their completed challenge to get points.  The person at the end of the game with the most points wins.  My prize was $10.  The older the teenagers, the higher the prize should be. 

Instructions

How to Play:

The day before the scavenger hunt starts, text the teens (or any age participants) the rules and what they can be expecting. 

My rules:

• The activity will be sent out via text every morning at 10am.  
• You have until 10pm that day to submit your entry (Because I'm an adult that has a real job and have to go to sleep:) 
• First come, First Serve for activities that are time-sensitive
• Have fun and be creative!

Daily Activity:

Day 1: Take a picture of someone wearing a green shirt.  It can't be you or a family member.  You get a bonus point if you are in the picture.

Day 2: Build a fort and send me a picture of it to get a point.  If you make it a KU themed fort you get an extra point.  The best fort wins the bonus point.

Day 3: Collect as many pennies as you can.  Each penny is worth 1 point.  You get an extra point if you find a penny with your birth year.  Bonus point to the person who finds the oldest penny.

Day 4: Get the parents day...Get a funny picture of your parents for one point.  Each additional picture is an additional point.  The best picture gets a bonus point. 

Day 5: Jesus Day.  Send the group as many scriptures you can find about God's love.  Each scripture can only be used once, so first come first serve.  Reply to the whole group so we all know what scriptures have been taken.

Notes

Game Tips: 

• The Digital Scavenger Hunt can be played with any age group.  Make the challenges easier for the little one and more extensive challenges for adults.
• Keep the level of surprise.  Don't share the upcoming day's challenge ahead of time.  
• The game can be converted into a 5 hour challenge where participants get a new clue every hour.
• Make a big deal about the winner.  Post it on social media, or have a presentation in front of the family or group. Heats up the competition.

Angie

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