Celebrate your child's love of learning

© Wondertime

• Get the Green Scavenger Hunt
• Howdy, Neighbor Scavenger Hunt
• The Sherlock Scavenger Hunt

Scavengers get a bad rap. We tend to think vultures, hyenas, seagulls circling a Dumpster. Ah, but our venerable national symbol, the bald eagle, isn't above scavenging dinner.. And even high-society Elsa Maxwell made scavenger hunts a centerpiece of her exclusive soirees in the 1920s (but then hunting for diamond brooches is more dignified than scouring the highway for flattened squirrels). For any scavenger, the thrill is largely in the chase. Our three hunts channel kids' natural curiosity and get them digging in the dirt, meeting the neighbors, and even uncovering some family secrets. We've provided printable lists and short lists here to get you started. You provide the family secrets.

A Scavenger Hunt Primer

Explain the rules before you hand out the hunts. Once kids get hold of that list, they won't hear a word you say.

With really young kids, find the first clue as one big group so everyone can see how it's done. Or, print out pictorial hunts just for them here. Tried all those and itching for more? Visit scavengerhuntsforkids.com. Remind players that the game is as much about teamwork as it is about finding things. Suggest that they take turns reading clues, carrying the bag of discoveries, and so on.

Don't be afraid to modify any of the hunts to suit your particular situation. No nature nearby? Design an urban hunt for restaurant takeout menus, an unused(!) doggy-doo bag, a subway ticket, and so on.

Get the Green

Print out Get the Green clues.

This hunt is a variation on the ones we did as kids but instead of "borrowing" the neighbor's garden gnome, two teams race to procure items found in nature.

The Hunt: Kids literally get in touch with nature through open-ended prompts that yield several "right" answers (like those at left) or with a simple list of items (e.g. two sticks, a gray rock, a non-green leaf).

• Head outside — park, yard, or any patch of green — and hand out the lists, collection bags, and pencils.
• Form two teams, or hunt together if you have young kids or a small number of people.
• Set a time limit (our testers found 20 minutes was about right) and whichever team find the most things before time's up wins. Of course you could let your explorers take their time examining everything in sight while you examine today's paper.

Tip: Provide gentle reminders to tread as lightly as possible, and those leaves of three, let 'em be.

Added value: Postgame, you can use a field guide to ID specimens, label them, and create miniature museums. Isn't that how Teddy Roosevelt got his start?

Clues you can use:

• Find something that a rabbit would like for lunch.
• Find two things that a squirrel might save for winter.
• Find something that is even older than your dad.

Howdy, neighbor!

Print out Howdy, Neighbor clues.

According to a recent survey, more than half of all Americans have never borrowed anything from their neighbors — not even a cup of sugar. That's about to change.

The hunt: This time the list contains questions you and your kids would like to ask your neighbors — within the bounds of decency, of course. How is this a scavenger hunt? You collect answers in the form of trinkets — ideally, ones that are fun for kids to get and painless for neighbors to lend or give away. (What's my favorite summertime tradition? Going to carnivals! Here, take this foam-stuffed gorilla I won last year.)

• Give your child the list collection bag, and pencil and explain that you're going on an adventure to find out more about your neighbors, and to collect a few small items from them. It's kind of like trick-or-treating...without the candy.

Tip: Stick to neighbors with whom you have a friendly acquaintance, or call ahead to explain. Stack the deck in your favor by asking them ahead of time about knickknacks they'd be willing to part with (if only for a time) or fun stories they have. It's not really cheating.

Added value: If your neighbor has a great war story or a souvenir from her trip to Micronesia forget the hunt and enjoy the ride.

Clues you can use:

• What food do you serve most often?
• What sport did you play in school?
• What's your favorite animal?
• Do you have a good-luck charm?

The Sherlock

Print out The Sherlock clues.

Got a special announcement? You could sit everybody down, but that would be so Leave It to Beaver.

The hunt: Here kids follow a trail of clues to reveal some fabulous secret: You're going to Grandma's or out for ice cream. Each clue leads to another, which is accompanied by a puzzle piece that, once assembled, tells all. "Find something in the bathroom as slippery as a squid" could lead to a clue and puzzle piece hidden under a soap dish — or just soap scum.

• Make a sign and cut it into several puzzle pieces. Next, write or download) clues leading to hiding places — one for each puzzle piece. Then, stash a puzzle piece and a clue in each place. But remember to reserve the first clue to start out with, and that the final puzzle piece doesn't get a clue.
• Hand over the first clue. This will lead them to the second clue and first puzzle piece, which will lead to the next, and so on.
• Once all the pieces have been found, assemble the puzzle on the kitchen table and celebrate.

Tip: Choose hiding places that are out of sight but not so concealed as to frustrate your sleuths.

Added value: Still works on a rainy day.

Bonus tip: If your announcement is a really big deal (like a little sister on the way), make the sign attractive enough to pop into a frame.