Scavenger Hunts and Quick Activities
Twenty no prep activities you can run in the next ten minutes, including five emergency sub plans for the day you were handed a class with no warning.
20 resources in this collection
Written by Eric Gonzalez-Payne, founder of Empathy School Bali.
20 resources
Ages 2 to 8Colour Scavenger Hunt
Teaching practice
Find something of every colour. The simplest hunt there is, and the one that works absolutely anywhere.
Ages 3 to 12Sound Scavenger Hunt
Teaching practice
Sit still and hunt with your ears. The quietest activity here and often the most popular.
Ages 3 to 10Texture Scavenger Hunt
Teaching practice
Six textures to find and a word for each. Builds vocabulary faster than any worksheet.
Ages 3 to 11Rainy Day Scavenger Hunt
Teaching practice
A hunt that only works when it is raining. Turns the worst weather of the week into the best session.
Ages 5 to 14Market Scavenger Hunt
Teaching practice
A hunt for a market anywhere in the world. Works in Hanoi, Oaxaca, Marrakech or a Saturday farmers market.
Ages 4 to 13Beach Scavenger Hunt
Teaching practice
A beach hunt that works on sand, shingle or rock, and asks better questions than shell collecting.
Ages 4 to 12City Scavenger Hunt
Teaching practice
Nature in a city with no park. Written for families and classes with concrete and nothing else.
Ages 5 to 14Airport and Travel Day Scavenger Hunt
Teaching practice
For the six hours in a terminal. Turns dead time into something, and stops a screen being the only option.
Ages 4 to 14Night Scavenger Hunt
Teaching practice
The same place after dark is a different place. Twenty minutes with a torch.
Ages 2 to 10Five Senses Scavenger Hunt
Teaching practice
One find for each sense, including taste, done safely. The classic, done properly.
Ages 4 to 13Shape and Pattern Hunt
Teaching practice
Maths hiding in plants. Circles, spirals, symmetry and repeats, all found outside.
Ages 3 to 12Minibeast Hunt
Teaching practice
Where to look, what you will find, and how to do it without harming anything.
Ages 4 to 12Kitchen Scavenger Hunt
Teaching practice
A hunt for a rainy day indoors. Every item is in the kitchen already.
Ages 4 to 13Seed and Fruit Hunt
Teaching practice
Find seven kinds of seed and work out how each one travels.
Ages 4 to 13Weather Scavenger Hunt
Teaching practice
Evidence of weather rather than the weather itself. Works on any day, including a boring one.
For adultsEmergency Sub Plan: One Hour Outdoors
Teaching practice
A full hour of outdoor learning that a substitute teacher can run cold, with no preparation and no materials.
For adultsEmergency Sub Plan: Twenty Minutes Outside
Teaching practice
A short outdoor session for the gap between lessons, or the day the timetable collapsed.
For adultsEmergency Sub Plan: No Outdoor Space
Teaching practice
An hour of nature learning for a class with no garden, no field and no permission to leave the room.
For adultsEmergency Sub Plan: Mixed Ages, One Adult
Teaching practice
An hour that works with five year olds and eleven year olds in the same group, run by one person.
For adultsEmergency Sub Plan: Wet Weather
Teaching practice
An hour built for rain rather than ruined by it, for a class with boots and a covered area.