Kids love to explore, and a fun and inexpensive way to help them explore their own backyard or neighborhood with fresh eyes is with a scavenger hunt. Scavenger hunts can be geared for kids of all ages, and can focus on sensory experiences, color recognition, numbers or vocabulary.
Check out these fun scavenger hunt ideas and printables that will make your next walk around the neighborhood a new adventure. Or, come up with your own list of items to look for!
Neighborhood Bear Hunt
Neighborhoods all over are putting stuffed bears in their windows and participating in neighborhood bear hunts. How many bears can you spot in your neighborhood?
Scavenger Hunt for Preschoolers
Run Wild My Child has this free printable scavenger hunt that is perfect for preschoolers because the list of items includes pictures.
Color Scavenger Hunt
Look for items on your next walk that coverfree teen scavenger hunt printableevery color of the rainbow, or send the kids outside with a bag to collect specimens of each color like this version from I Heart Crafty Things.
Sketching Scavenger Hunt
Your little artists will love this free printable scavenger hunt from Buggy and Buddy that has space for them to draw what they find.
Nature Scavenger Hunt
Encourage a closer look at nature with these free nature scavenger hunt printables from Alice and Lois.
Teen Scavenger Hunt
Older kids like hunting for things, too! Send them out with their phones to snap photos of the items they find. Remind them of photo etiquette when taking pictures of others' property. Get a free teen scavenger hunt printable from Happy Mom Hacks.
Alphabet Scavenger Hunt
Look for an item to correspond to each letter in the alphabet. Write, draw or take a picture of each item found.
Gratitude Scavenger Hunt
This idea is great for kids and adults! Here's a free printable from Natural Beach Living.
Nighttime Scavenger Hunt
Kids can still search for things when the sun goes down! Grab a flashlight and this free nighttime scavenger hunt printable from Momdot and see what can be found at night.
Listening Scavenger Hunt
We've identified all kinds of things to see on a walk, but what about things that can be heard? Check out this listening scavenger hunt printable from Growing Hands-On Kids.
Getting out into nature is good for the body and the spirit, so grab one of these scavenger hunt printables and go exploring!
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