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Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Nature Scavanger Hunt

During our family weekend, we had a nature scavanger hunt.  Although the adult "kids" scoffed at first, once we started, they all got into it and it was hilarious. The original idea came from a Pinterest pin by The Taylor House, but we added our own twists.  Here is our list:
  • Something fuzzy
  • A seed
  • Man-made litter
  • Something straight
  • Something round
  • Something smooth
  • Something rough
  • Something purple
  • Something you think is beautiful
  • 2 types of leaves
  • Something that makes noise
  • A pinecone
  • Something you think is a treasure
  • A corn cob
  • A soy bean
  • A flower
  • Watch for bonus items tied with purple ribbon.    
  •  Bonus points for finding any of the balls the dogs have lost.

We divided into three teams of three, each with a designated cell-phone photographer.  Rather than collecting and bringing home the items on the list, they had only to snap a picture.  This allowed for a wider variety of items to fill each category. 

For example, "something round" could be a round hay bale.  (For those of you unfamiliar with big, round bales -- as compared to small, square bales and large, square bales -- they are approximately 6' in diameter and weigh around a thousand pounds - not easy to put in your pocket.)

For "something purple" my team used the K-State shirt on this adorable grandson:



The teams had 30 minutes to complete the hunt and no items could be found within the boundaries of our yard.  Although being first to return to "base" did not count towards winning, it didn't stop overly-competitive siblings from making a dash for it. Little legs had a hard time keeping up.


The winning team was determined by a team of not-so-impartial judges - Dave and I.  We compared the pictures taken by each team.  If two teams found the same object, such as dandelions for flowers, the team with a unique item got one point.  Some points were awarded for the most original  - like the team who took the cover off the well in the pasture to get a shot of the "something round" gauge on the pump.  Some items were judged entirely by personal preference.  For "something beautiful", Amanda snapped a picture of me - knowing that she would get Dave's vote or find him in the dog house. :)

The "bonus items" mentioned were zip-lock bags of candy tied with purple ribbon and hidden earlier in the day.  I encourage you to try your own customized version of this with your own group - friends, family, fantasy-football league.  Great source of giggles!

7 comments:

  1. What a great way to make family fun and lasting memories! Good job.
    Rosemary

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  2. Fantastic way to bring everyone together and have fun! Love it … and will steal it!

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  3. I'm with you Jenners I will steal it too! Thinking that even though it may be Christmas and cold - we could do our own family scavenger hunt in cars, on foot, with cell phone cameras and end with hot chocolate and popcorn!

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  4. Sounds like a lot of fun. I'm glad your visit turned out well.

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  5. I love the creativity of this and the team who took your picture as something beautiful!! What good clean fun to do something like this! I remember doing scavenger hunts at parties growing up, that was fun to go and ask at houses for this or that on the list (now we wouldn't do such a thing, but 40 or so years ago it was a whole different world :)

    betty

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  6. Whoa what a wonderful idea Tami! Your family get together a are lots of fun. Can you adopt me!

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