When I was around 14 years old, my Pony Club planned a huge Scavenger Hunt day a few towns away. Sadly, one of the horses refused to get on the float and we missed arriving on time. My dad saw our faces and quickly drummed up his own version of a scavenger hunt and we headed off for the day. It was one of the most amazing days of my childhood and was the catalyst for my love of scavenger hunts which I have loved creating for my own children.
The Matchbox Scavenger Hunt is a super easy version of this classic game and one that I have found all ages (including high school kids) enjoy.
The Matchbox Scavenger Hunt
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The Matchbox Scavenger Hunt is an activity I developed to inspire the kids to see our backyard a little differently. It’s very easy to set up and has the potential to keep them busy for either short bursts of time or for longer periods depending on what I add to the list.
How to Play the Game
Basically the game involves participants opening a prepared matchbox to reveal a series of items that they need to find in a designated area. Each item must fit into their matchbox.
The game concludes when a team successfully finds all the items on the list, fits them inside their matchbox and hands it to the adjudicator (that’s you!).
Required Items
So what do you need to set up this activity? Well that’s the beauty of the game as all you need is an empty matchbox (or suitable box of desired size) for each participant or group and a short list of items to find. That’s it! Awesome, right?
If you want to expand the activity you could add a “matchbox decorating” element.
Let me know how your game turns out.
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I love this idea! I’ve been looking for games to play for an upcoming birthday party in our garden and this perfect – so thanks!!
What a great idea … a version of what we use to do with our students when we did Scavenger Hunts while on Bivouac when I taught at Sport and Rec Camps.
I’d love to see how a preschool teacher or ES1 teacher could adapt this for their students.
Mac
Love this, such a cute and simple way to keep the kids active and occupied!
that is such a gorgeous idea! I can’t wait until my girl is older and I can do this! It sounds like so much fun I want to do it now! My hubby is a primary school teacher, maybe I’ll tell him about it!
What a great idea. I Will be giving this one a go soon. 🙂
Fantastic idea! Anything to get kids outdoor and playing in nature is great to see 🙂
Oh this is a fab idea!! Cheese is a bit young for this, but I will be storing this up for when she’s older.
What a fun way to explore our world. I am so going to try this when my son gets a little biger!
I LOVE this idea! So creative and perfect for keeping the kids busy and engaged.
I like this, not least because it would be a good reading activity (nice short list, not too intimidating, showing him that reading can be the means to fun, not just an academic exercise). Cool!
Awesome idea! A variation of this would be great for long car trips too.
It would! I’ll need to adapt it and try it out!
What a cute idea! I love tiny things like that.