Scavenger Hunt Day

Individuals or teams can take part in scavenger hunts, where items are found or a list of tasks are completed. Clues on how to find items are often given and certain locations may need to be reached. There may be a set time that a scavenger hunt needs to be finished during, making it crucial that participants work quickly. There usually is a prize for the first person or team who finds the item or finishes the tasks. On Scavenger Hunt Day, family and friends gather together to compete in these types of hunts, especially in ones that take place during parties.

There are a number of variations on the good-old-fashioned scavenger hunt. Technology allows people from all around the world to participate in scavenger hunts through the internet and apps. Geocaching uses a global positioning system (GPS) to find caches of items, usually located in waterproof containers with trinkets and a logbook. A type of outdoor hunt that doesn't use GPS is letterboxing.

Scavenger hunts are derived from ancient folk games and gained popularity in the United States on account of Elsa Maxwell, who began hosting parties for the social elite of New York City in the 1930s, where she implemented scavenger hunts as party games. She was born on May 24, 1883, which clues us in to why Scavenger Hunt Day takes place today. In more modern times, scavenger hunts have become popular at American universities. One well-known university hunt is the University of Chicago Scavenger Hunt.

How to Observe Scavenger Hunt Day

Celebrate the day by organizing or taking part in a scavenger hunt. Having the hunt be a party game is perhaps the best way to do it, as that would pay homage to Elsa Maxwell, who kicked off interest in scavenger hunts in the United States. Some other ways to spend the day are to learn more about Maxwell or to make plans to attend a popular scavenger hunt, such as the University of Chicago Scavenger Hunt.

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