There are a lot of different types of treasure hunt but perhaps the two types you’d think of if someone mentioned a treasure hunt would be the type with a map, and the type with written clues to follow. The latter is a great style of hunt for children who can read, but there is a similar type of hunt for those that can’t yet: A Picture Treasure Hunt.
This treasure hunt follows the same idea as those with written clues. The idea is to figure out the clue so you know where to look for the next clue (and eventually, for the treasure). This hunt is exactly the same, but with pictures instead of written clues. The first clue will be a picture of an object for example, a bed. The searcher then needs to look for the next clue on, in or under a bed. This is a great lead-in to clues with words and a fun way for younger children to experience treasure hunting before they become confident readers.
Stuff Needed:
- Pictures of objects you can find in your house (it doesn’t need to be an exact match, a drawing would do). You can print the ones for this hunt here, or choose your own. Use as many or as few as you like.
- Scissors (to cut out the pictures).
- Treasure (anything works as treasure. The joy of treasure hunting is in the hunt, more than the actual treasure. A special snack or small present work well but if you don’t have anything, make an activity of drawing or making treasure before the hunt)!
Instructions:
- Print out the pictures and cut them out or make up your own. If using the printable, discard any pictures that don’t appear in your home (e.g. if you don’t have a bath in the house, remove the bath picture). Young children who have not participated in a treasure hunt before may take a few clues to get into it so it’s worth having quite a few pictures lined up.
- Pile up the pictures in the order you want to do the hunt. Start with a few easier ones, and think about a good place to hide the actual treasure. Keep that one until last. Make sure the treasure is not likely to be found by accident before the clues lead there.
- I find the easiest way to lay the trail is to work backwards. Hide the treasure in the place the last clue shows. Take this clue and hide it where the second-to-last clue shows. Keep going until you’ve hidden as many clues as you want to. Save the first one to give to the treasure hunters. An example is shown below.
- Make any ground rules clear before you set your treasure hunters off. For example, if there are a group of children, tell them they must wait for each other before moving on to a new clue. Be clear about any places that are out of bounds.
Think carefully about where to hide each clue. Make sure all young treasure hunters would be able to reach it, would be safe looking for it and try to assess how hard it will be for them to find it (easier said than done!).
Example
I decide I’m going to hide the treasure on the windowsill behind the curtain in the hall. It’s a low window and easy to reach but it’s unlikely anyone will find it too early by accident.
- I hide the treasure behind the curtain.
- Next I take the picture of the curtain and hide it in the bath.
- I take the picture of the bath and stick it to the front of the washing machine.
- Then I take the picture of the washing machine and hide it under a chair.
- I give the picture of the chair to my eager treasure hunters.
This is just an example of how to set up the hunt. I would normally use at least 12 pictures.