Treasure hunt for children

Treasure hunt for children: How to inspire small and large groups

Exploring the environment, solving tricky riddles and finding a big treasure at the end – that makes children´s eyes light up! A treasure hunt for children promises fun, games and excitement all in one and is equally appropriate for small and large groups. Here you can read how to create an exciting treasure hunt yourself.

How does a treasure hunt for children work?

Somewhere in the surrounding area, a treasure is hidden. But where? That's what the children have to figure out. To do so, they embark on a joint hunt for various clues. These can be hidden anywhere and reveal a wide variety of information. For example, they give hints as to where the next clue is hidden or what exactly the treasure actually is.

Once the children have solved all the riddles and correctly followed the clues, they find their way to the treasure chest. Now, the little treasure hunters can finally plunder it!

Make a treasure hunt for children yourself

All you need for a treasure hunt are some creative ideas, planning skills and a few suitable accessories. The result is a great activity for children that is not only fun, but also helps them develop their skills on a cognitive level. To make the treasure hunt a total success, here are a few tips and hints on how to best go about planning it.

1. Find ideas

The first question is: What should be the theme of the treasure hunt for children? Should there even be a theme? Deciding on a theme gives you great opportunities to build an entire story around the treasure hunt. This way, you'll make it even more exciting and the children will be immersed in a fantasy world that's all theirs. When each child can take on an interesting role, the search becomes even more fun.

This is exactly how it is with the treasure hunt from myCityHunt. Working as a team, you'll uncover a centuries-old mystery. The game is also suitable for older children!

Popular themes are for example:

• Pirates
• Gold seekers
• Adventurers
• Knights
• Brave princesses and princes
• Explorers and archaeologists
• Detectives
• Police officers

2. Buy accessories

What is the most important thing for a treasure hunt? Of course, a treasure! And it should excite the little guests! But what are they most interested in? If your child's soccer team is invited, the answer is self-evident. The same applies if children from your kid's gymnastics group, music school, dance club or other hobby groups come over.

But what if completely different interests collide? Luckily, there are a few things that almost every child likes. These include:

• Candy
• Bubbles
• Balloons
• Colorful crayons
• Stickers
• Plasticine
• Small play figures or plush animals

The way to the destination can also be decorated with a few accessories. How about a treasure map? On it, you draw the location of the individual challenges that have to be overcome – and perhaps even the treasure itself. However, if you don't yet want to reveal where the treasure is hidden, hide a separate map at the last quest that reveals its location.

You can mark the individual locations with symbols, which give a hint as to what riddles await the little ones there. The accessories you need depend on the tasks. Below are a few ideas.

3. Come up with riddles and other challenges

A treasure hunt for children is no fun without puzzles. Tricky riddles are just part of the fun. They can be related to a wide variety of areas:

• Knowledge
• Logical thinking
• Dexterity
• Teamwork
• Sports
• Numbers
• Handicrafts
• Jigsaw puzzle

A lot of these can also be combined. How about a knowledge riddle that will later show the children the way? To do this, you first need a treasure map. Then cut it up into puzzle pieces. Ideally, the number of puzzle pieces corresponds to that of the little guests. Also think of a few questions that fit the theme, if you have chosen one.

Now, ask each child a question in turn. If they answer correctly, they win a puzzle piece. Prepare a few more questions in case the children don't know the answer. Once they have won all the pieces, put them together to form the treasure map.

In case the treasure hunt takes place outdoors, you can wonderfully integrate sports games. How about having the children balance over a fallen log or hop on one leg to the next clue on their way to the treasure?

4. Planning the process

Your treasure is ready and you've already gathered a lot of ideas for locations and riddles, too. Now you need to put all this in order and firmly plan the process. First of all, you need a good hiding place for the treasure. You may bury it in your own backyard or hide it in a low treetop or bush if you have the opportunity.

Inside the house, for example, a small cave made of stretched clotheslines, blankets and pillows is a good place to hide the treasure. The only important thing is that the treasure chest is not immediately visible and that the children don't discover it ahead of time.

The next question is: How many riddles should there be? Make sure you always keep time in mind. The treasure hunt should not take longer than two to three hours, so that the children don't lose motivation and grow impatient.

Base the number of riddles on how long it will take the children to complete each task. Also walk the route to estimate how much time the little ones will need just to walk. In most cases 5 to 10 challenges is an appropriate range.

Treasure hunt for children’s birthday and other occasions

There are many occasions to host a treasure hunt for children. It is especially well suited for children's birthday parties. Particularly at themed parties, treasure hunts are great fun because every child can slip into an exciting role and really express themselves.

Even celebrations in the sports club or other hobby groups become a very special event thanks to a treasure hunt, which children will not forget so easily. The treasure hunt should match the hobby and include riddles that are tailored to it.

The school environment is also an ideal setting for a treasure hunt. This way, the last day before the summer vacations can be turned into a treasure hunt day or the children go on a discovery tour with the treasure map during the school trip and explore the surroundings!

Organize a treasure hunt yourself or book it?

Equipped with the above information, you have already taken a big step towards creating your treasure hunt. However, you will have noticed that there are many things to consider and that developing your treasure hunt takes a lot of time. There is also the question of whether the participants will like their treasure hunt puzzles in the end. Therefore, it is worth considering whether you want to plan and organize the treasure hunt yourself or whether you would prefer to use a tried and tested concept. In the following table, we compare the advantages and disadvantages of both options.