Art Museum Scavenger Hunt – 70 Finds for Any Gallery

How it works

Paintings, sculpture, drawings and prints: this art museum scavenger hunt holds 70 finds for any gallery, scored 1 to 3 points. No artist or work is named, so it fits any collection.

Read the full guide

Pick a list for each room

Portraits and people and Landscapes and places suit the painting galleries; Sculpture and objects suits the halls and the courtyard. Paint, paper and marks asks for a closer look at how a work was made. Choose in the menu beside the main button, then press Print this list.

An art scavenger hunt that stays quiet

Teams of two or three, walking, voices low. Every find is judged by looking, and the note under each line is the rule. Keep Talk, sketch and vote for a bench near the end.

Tips

Ask at the front desk about sketching and photo rules before you hand out the lists.
Spot a detail no other team will notice is worth 3 points, so hold the judging until every team is back.

Questions and answers

What can you look for in an art museum?

Things most galleries hold in some form: a person asleep, a figure shown from behind, a painting on wood instead of canvas, a picture made of tiny dots of color, a mask made by hand and fine cracks across old paint.

How do you keep children interested in an art museum?

Give them one list to hunt, not the whole building. Landscapes and places holds the most 1-point finds, and the Talk, sketch and vote tasks let them answer out loud without reading a label.

How is it scored?

Each line carries 1, 2 or 3 points, shown at the start of its note. A team claims a find only when every member has seen it, and the highest total at the meeting time wins.

All 70 finds

Portraits and people 14

A crowd of more than twenty people 3 points. Count to twenty quietly, then stop. Every head counts, even a tiny one.
A face painted in only one color 3 points. Shades of one color count. The team must agree no second color is used.
A figure dancing or caught in the middle of a jump 2 points. Both feet off the ground, or one leg high in the air.
A figure shown from behind 2 points. No face at all may show.
A group portrait of at least five people 2 points. Every person must be painted in full or in part. Count them out loud, quietly.
A person asleep 2 points. Eyes closed and body at rest. A person only resting their eyes counts too.
A person wearing a hat with a feather in it 1 point. Any feather counts, even a small one tucked into a band.
A portrait of a child holding something 1 point. Say what the child is holding before you read the label.
A portrait where the sitter looks away from you 1 point. Follow their gaze and say what they might be looking at.

Show all 70 finds (61 more)

Portraits and people, continued

Hands that take up more space than the face 3 points. Hold your hand up at a distance to compare, never against the frame.
Jewelry painted so it seems to shine 1 point. Look for the one bright dot of paint that makes it glint.
Someone at work with a tool in their hand 1 point. Name the job the tool belongs to.
Someone reading or writing a letter 2 points. A book, a letter or a page all count. The words need not be readable.
Two people who look related 2 points. The team must agree on the clue: the nose, the eyes or the label.

Landscapes and places 14

A bridge over a river or a canal 1 point. Stone, wood, rope or iron. Say where the water flows.
A city street with people walking 2 points. At least three walkers, and at least one building.
A dark storm cloud 2 points. The cloud must look heavy. Rain falling from it scores the same.
A field at harvest time 1 point. Haystacks, stooks, bundled grain or people cutting a crop.
A garden behind a fence, a wall or a gate 1 point. The way in must show, even if it is closed.
A lighthouse painted on a rocky coast 3 points. Any size of lighthouse. Say whether its light is shining.
A mountain with snow on its peak 1 point. Snow on the top, not falling snow.
A painted sky glowing at dawn or dusk 1 point. Orange, pink or red near the horizon is the proof.
A rainbow over fields or water 3 points. A painted rainbow only. Light through a window does not count.
A river that bends out of sight 2 points. The water must turn and vanish behind a bank, a tree or a hill.
A road or path that leads into the distance 1 point. Trace it with your eyes until it disappears.
A town at night with lights in the windows 2 points. At least two lit windows.
A windmill or a waterwheel 2 points. Say whether the painter shows it turning.
The moon in the sky 2 points. A thin crescent counts. Say which way it curves.

Sculpture and objects 14

A carved figure smaller than your hand 2 points. Hold your hand up at a distance to compare.
A chair, table or chest shown as art 2 points. Furniture only. Nobody sits on it or leans on its case.
A figure with wings 1 point. A bird does not count. A person, an animal or a creature with wings does.
A head or a bust on a stand 1 point. Head and shoulders only. Say who you think it might be, then read the label.
A mask made by hand 2 points. Say what feeling the mask shows.
A quilt, tapestry or rug hung on a wall 2 points. Cloth made to hang. Name one picture or pattern woven or stitched into it.
A sculpture made to move 3 points. A hanging mobile, a part that turns in the air, or a motor. Wait and watch.
A sculpture of a person sitting down 1 point. On a chair, a rock, a step or the ground.
A sculpture outdoors in a garden or courtyard 2 points. It must belong to the museum, not the city street outside.
A sculpture that hangs from the ceiling 2 points. It must hang, not stand. Look up without stopping in a doorway.
A sculpture you can walk all the way around 1 point. Walk the full circle slowly, at arm's length or more.
A vase or jar painted with people on it 2 points. Count the people you can see from where you stand.
An animal carved in wood or stone 1 point. Name the animal before you read the label.
Polished metal that reflects the room 2 points. Find your own team in the reflection, without stepping closer.

Paint, paper and marks 14

A brushstroke you can still see from one step back 1 point. Stand one step back. The single stroke must still show.
A collage of cut or torn paper 2 points. Look for the edges of the pieces. The label may say collage.
A drawing in pencil, chalk or charcoal 1 point. The label must name the drawing material.
A painting in a round or oval frame 2 points. The picture itself must be round or oval, not only the frame's corners.
A painting on wood instead of canvas 3 points. The label must say panel or wood.
A photograph hung as a work of art 1 point. The label must call it a photograph or give a photo process.
A picture made of tiny dots of color 3 points. Up close it is dots; from across the room it is a picture. Both views count.
A picture of an artist at work 2 points. An easel, a brush or a sketchbook in someone's hand is the proof.
A print the label calls an etching, woodcut or lithograph 2 points. Any one of the three words on the label counts.
A work in black and white only 1 point. Grays count. One spot of color and it does not.
An artist's signature painted into the picture 2 points. Find it on the painting, then check the label names the same artist.
Fine cracks across old paint 3 points. A net of tiny lines like dry mud. Look from an arm's length, never closer.
Gold used on a painting or frame 1 point. Gold on the picture itself scores 1. Gold only on the frame scores 1 too.
Words or letters painted inside the picture 2 points. A sign, a book, a letter or a label within the scene. Read one word if you can.

Talk, sketch and vote 14

Choose the painting you would step inside for an hour 1 point. Say where you would stand once you were in it.
Count the colors in one painting 2 points. Two teams count the same work. The closer count to the judge's wins.
Describe a painting to a teammate with their back to it 2 points. They sketch from your words alone. Then compare the sketch with the painting.
Find a work that looks loud and one that looks quiet 2 points. Say what makes each one feel that way.
Find a work that looks unfinished 2 points. Bare canvas, a pencil line showing, or a half-painted corner.
Find the work with the longest label 1 point. Compare two or three labels in one room. The longest wins the point.
Find two works that would argue with each other 3 points. Explain the argument in one sentence.
Find where the light comes from in one painting 2 points. Point to the window, the candle, the sun or the brightest spot.
Give a person in a portrait one line to say 1 point. Say it quietly. The funniest line from each team is read at the end.
Guess a work's age before reading its label 2 points. Write the guess down first. The closest guess on the team scores.
Guess the season in a landscape, then show the proof 2 points. Leaves, snow, flowers or the harvest. The team must agree.
Sketch one sculpture from two sides 3 points. Two small drawings, pencil only. Walk around it, never touch it.
Spot a detail no other team will notice 3 points. Show it to the judge at the end. If another team found it too, it scores 0.
Vote for the best-dressed person in the gallery's paintings 1 point. Every team member votes. The winner's outfit is described on the way out.

How this list was compiled: Written for this site by its editors in September 2026: 70 original finds and tasks for a visit to any art museum or gallery. Nothing was copied from another list, and no museum, artist, collection or work is named, so the list fits any collection. The notes are judging rules, not facts, so no outside page was read for them. Every task is done by looking, sketching or talking quietly: nothing is touched, and photos follow the museum's own signs. Points and levels are the editors' judgment. Licence: own work