When was the last time you went on a scavenger hunt? If you were a part of my generation, a scavenger hunt meant you went out in groups all over town with a list of things to try to find and bring back in by a given deadline. The group with the most found items wins.

With the advances in cell phone technology, kids today can find things without having to carry them back. They can take snapshots, videos, and audio recordings on the spot. So it’s time to create new lists and revive the scavenger hunt as a way to have fun.

Scavenger hunts can work for youth groups as well as for a simple family game, either at home or on vacation. They might even be played in the car while the family travels.

Here are a few ideas for starters:

• Nature and wildlife (Be as specific as the age of the children can handle.)
  • wildflowers
  • critters
  • mushrooms
  • birds
  • butterflies
  • bees
• Landmarks (for teens with transportation)
  • city limit signs
  • stores
• Audio recordings
  • lawnmower
  • birds
  • frogs
  • car horn
  • song sung by participant
  • recitations by participant – Pledge of Allegiance,  Gettysburg Address, MLK’s Let freedom ring speech, poems…
  • Musical instruments being played by people you know. One point for each different kind of instrument.
• Video recordings
  • stunts
  • wildlife
  • specific people speaking to the camera
  • items from the audio list
  • participants reciting original limericks they just wrote
• Vacation trips – in car – passengers must declare which side of road is theirs before the game begins to reduce frustrations between participants getting in each other’s way.
  • cows – bonus for the largest herd
  • horses – points for each color of horse found
  • cemetaries
  • church steeples
  • schools
  • barns
  • windmills
  • produce stands
  • deer and wildlife
  • bridges – first to take picture only

Get out those cell phones – even your discarded phones might be able to take pictures – and have a scavenger hunt via. cell phones.

Written by Janice D. Green, author of The First Christmas and The Creation.