Scavenger Hunt for Kids to Enjoy in Nature

As we all try to fill lockdown with activities for the kids, a simple scavenger hunt is a great way to fill the time. We’ve collected our best scavenger hunt expert to bring you scavenger hunt ideas packed with adventure and fun. Explore the wonders of your local area and embark on an easy treasure hunt to pass the time as a family.

We’ve teamed up with Chantel Rolph from The Conker Crew, our nature scavenger hunt expert to bring you ideas and top tips for your outdoor treasure hunt. Chantel, a Forest School Leader and outdoor family life enthusiast, brings a wealth of expert advice for outdoor adventures with the family. " Another lockdown. Another walk. Seriously, where is the fresh air fun amidst this stale, stagnant state of lockdown? The answer lies in the simplicity of the humble scavenger hunt. That’s why, we’re revealing our top tips for exciting scavenger hunts for kids, plus our favourite ideas to try on your next outdoor adventure. We’re not talking high-res pictures, laminated worksheets and generic ‘nature’ finds for this scavenger hunt... Oh no. We are talking about simplifying our lives and our enjoyment of being outside with our crew and that doesn’t mean trying to find examples of leaves that don’t grow in our neighbourhood or trying to get our three-year-old to find a specific tree. Enjoying the Great Outdoors is not an elitist pastime - we don’t always need identification skills or to put the miles in. We just need to stop. Enjoy. And BE IN nature. A scavenger hunt is an ideal way to do just that. The list of scavenger hunt ideas is endless. They can be done anywhere, at any time, in any locale… you don’t have to travel far or put in hours of planning. Sounds perfect, right? This is about giving meaning to your meanders, not just getting from A to B and ticking off ten things as quickly as possible but more about allowing ourselves to stop and notice where we are and what we can see. So, the things you will need are not the things you will try to spot; they are the things that will allow you to comfortably pause.

Our top tips for outdoor scavenger hunts

Find a good location

If you know the route you are taking, ask yourself if there are any natural sit spots or places to pause and take five.

• This might be a den, a tree stump, a small clearing in some woodland, some low-lying branches or even a bus stop, park bench or wall.
• Are there any places that are particularly woody or muddy, any rope swings or balancing logs.
• If you’re off around a more urban setting, skate ramps, walls, kerbs, steps all offer climbing, balancing, game-playing opportunities because a good scavenger hunt is an active activity. Running and jumping alongside looking and searching will provide infinitely more engaged participants - and they’ll be burning off a load of energy to boot!

If you don’t know your route, keep it short and simple but be prepared to think on your feet - keep your eyes open for potential ‘sit spots’ and places to pause and physically play in between your outdoor scavenger hunt.

Choose the right clothing

After location, our next consideration is clothing. Double-paired or thick socks in wellies, waterproofs and layers for ALL. Yes for ALL, even you, the grown-up, because if you can’t sit on that log or that wall they probably won’t either. If you’re cold and wet, and we’ve all been there, then that is when we hurry things along, cut a walk short and ultimately end up taking home our small bundles of un-expelled energy. And that is no fun for anyone. So, if waterproof trousers aren’t your immediate go-to, a waterproof picnic blanket is a good alternative… something to allow you to pause and observe, to sit and to chill too.

Bring snacks!

The third top tip for a memorable nature scavenger hunt is like with everything involving kids… snacks. The obvious winter warmer is the flask of hot chocolate or warm juice or mini-marshmallow toasting kit and these can be great carrot-danglers for getting to the 'next bit’. We’ve all used that method, right?! But stopping for a quick bite, a cheeky nibble, some light refreshment offers another reason to stop and pause and notice our environment. Another chance to be in nature.

Scavenger hunt ideas

But what are we scavenging for? Well, that’s the beauty of this - anything and everything… because like most of our parenting skills, we make it up as we go along. You keep it pertinent to your walk, your space and your interests. Here are our favourite scavenger hunt ideas for kids. Take note!

1. Look for seasonal objects

Environments are changing all the time; one walk on one day may provide frosty leaves, icy puddles and glistening spider webs which the following day are replaced with dew-covered bushes, muddy ditches and dripping branches.

2. Tick off colours and shades

Colours and shades are good for scavenger hunts too - bright graffiti art, poster images and advertisement designs alongside moss and lichen, fungus and mushrooms.

3. Make it a race to find the objects

You can call out items to ‘hunt’ along the way, as and when you spot them - this way the scavenger hunt is tailored to your family and your child, your abilities and your interests.

4. Draw what you find

Now if this is too simplistic (can it ever be?!) or if you need something to engage older children too, then you can add some card, some stickers or a pencil to a bag so that their finds can be either drawn or written down along the way - more opportunity to take those moments to pause. This can then be used at a later date as a more traditional scavenger hunt to give a different feel to the same route - a great idea for slightly older kids as they then feel some confidence in ‘leading’ the walk and sharing their knowledge of what can be seen, heard or found along the way.

5. Collect pieces in a bag to take home

And a bag allows items and treasures to be collected and taken home, which in turn offers up some home-learning and craft activity opportunities (science and nature, English and writing skills, counting and maths skills, Geography, art and drama - the list is endless) and who isn’t keen for an easy option with that right now?!

So, there it is. A fun, new take on the old favourite, the treasure hunt. We hope our top tips and best scavenger hunt ideas for kids have helped to inspire your next outdoor excursion. Take it easy, keep it simple and go slow. Being outdoors provides us all with an opportunity to draw breath and feel alive. The scavenger hunt is not the purpose of the walk but the impetus to keep on moving and noticing, allowing us all to embrace some fresh air fun in our ‘hood. "

If you’re heading outside, remember to dress for the unpredictable British weather with our kids' wellies and boys and girls raincoats.

To find out more about Grass & Air, get in touch with one of our friendly team members today. Check out Chantel on Instagram @theconkercrew or on The Conker Crew website.