100 clues
Checked October 2026

Dinosaur Scavenger Hunt

Seven dinosaur clues with their hiding places, and a last clue that leads to the prize.

All 100

Show your teeth and give a roar. Look by the mirror near the door.Trail
Ankylosaurus wore armor, head to tail. Check your bike helmet. You can't fail!Trail
Stegosaurus wore plates along its back. Yours are on the table. Check the stack!Trail
Triceratops had three horns, that's that. Look inside a party hat!Trail
A long-neck stands in the corner all night. Check the foot of the tall lamp's light.Trail
A T. rex had sixty pointed teeth. Lift the toothbrush cup. Look beneath!Trail
Quick on two legs, Velociraptor ran. Look in your sneakers as fast as you can!Trail
The dinosaurs left one thing behind. Look ____ and see what you find.Prize

Next step Next: games for the dinosaur party A clue for any other hiding place

All 100 clues

Rhymes, ages 4 to 6 28

A dig team carries dirt in a pail. Look in the bucket. Do not fail! Hide the next clue: the bucket. The dig team's pail. Drop it in, under a stone.
A dinosaur den is dark and wide. Crawl under the table and look inside. Hide the next clue: under the kitchen table. It is the dinosaur den. Tape it to the underside of the table.
A giant egg, so big and round? No! It's the ball. Look on the ground. Hide the next clue: the ball. It could pass for a giant egg. Set the ball on top of the strip.
A long-neck stands in the corner all night. Check the foot of the tall lamp's light. Hide the next clue: the floor lamp. It stands like a long-neck in the corner. Tape it to the foot of the lamp.
A print in stone is a fossil, you know. Look by the biggest rock. Go slow! Hide the next clue: the biggest rock. A fossil can be a bone, a shell or a print pressed in stone. Set a small stone on the strip, beside the rock.

Show all 100 clues (95 more)

Rhymes, ages 4 to 6, continued

A T. rex had sixty pointed teeth. Lift the toothbrush cup. Look beneath! Hide the next clue: the toothbrush cup. Tyrannosaurus had 60 pointed teeth. Slip it under the cup.
Ankylosaurus wore armor, head to tail. Check your bike helmet. You can't fail! Hide the next clue: the bike helmet. Ankylosaurus had bony plates covering its body. Lay it inside the helmet.
Baby dinosaurs hatched from eggs, it's true. The egg carton holds a clue for you. Hide the next clue: the egg carton. Dinosaurs laid eggs, and fossil eggs have been found. Lay it on top of the carton in the refrigerator.
Birds are dinosaurs, alive today! Check the bird feeder, then stomp away. Hide the next clue: the bird feeder. Birds are the only dinosaurs still living. Tape it to the pole at a child's height.
Brachiosaurus ate from treetops high. Look by the trunk. No need to fly! Hide the next clue: the tree trunk. Brachiosaurus fed on leaves from tall trees. Tie it around the trunk with yarn, at a child's height.
Climb a long-neck's back, then down you go. The foot of the slide has a clue to show. Hide the next clue: the slide. It is a long-neck: ladder for a neck, slide for a tail. Tape it to the foot of the slide.
Dig teams rest when the day is hot. The garden chair is a shady spot. Hide the next clue: the garden chair. Base camp for a tired dig team. Tape it under the seat.
Diplodocus had a tail like a whip. Check the hose, each coil and drip. Hide the next clue: the garden hose. Diplodocus had a very long tail, like a whip. Tuck it between two coils.
Diplodocus teeth stood in rows like a comb. Find the comb in your very own home. Hide the next clue: the comb. Diplodocus had teeth in rows like a comb. Thread it between the teeth of the comb.
Every fossil hunter needs a place to dig. Try the sandbox. It's plenty big! Hide the next clue: the sandbox. This is the dig site. Bury it in a zip bag with one corner showing.
Hide like a small one where leaves grow thick. Look under the bush, and be quick! Hide the next clue: the bush. A hiding place for a small plant-eater. Clip it to a low twig with a clothespin.
Is it a nest? It's round and deep. Under the flowerpot, take a peek. Hide the next clue: the empty flowerpot. It is round like a nest. Lay it under the upturned pot.
Plant-eaters munched on leaves all day. The houseplant hides a clue this way. Hide the next clue: the houseplant. Triceratops ate tough palm fronds. Stand it in the pot, against the stem.
Pterosaurs flew over dinosaur land. Check the swing seat, close at hand. Hide the next clue: the swing. Pterosaurs were flying reptiles of the dinosaurs' time. Tape it under the seat.
Quick on two legs, Velociraptor ran. Look in your sneakers as fast as you can! Hide the next clue: your sneakers. Velociraptor moved on two legs, and its name means quick plunderer. Push it into the toe of one sneaker.
Show your teeth and give a roar. Look by the mirror near the door. Hide the next clue: the mirror. The hunters roar at their own reflections. Tape it to the edge of a mirror the hunters can reach.
Stegosaurus wore plates along its back. Yours are on the table. Check the stack! Hide the next clue: the stack of party plates. Stegosaurus had bony plates along its back. Slide it under the top plate.
Stomp like a giant, make the ground shake. The bottom stair is the next step to take. Hide the next clue: the bottom stair. A place to stomp like a giant. Tape it to the front edge of the step.
Thirsty giants need a water hole. The watering can is your next goal. Hide the next clue: the watering can. It is the water hole of the yard. Drop it inside the dry can.
Triceratops had three horns, that's that. Look inside a party hat! Hide the next clue: the party hats. Triceratops means three-horned face. Tuck it inside the top hat of the pile.
We lived so very long ago. The dinosaur book has a clue to show. Hide the next clue: the dinosaur book. Tyrannosaurus lived 68 to 66 million years ago. Any big book will do. Slip it inside the front cover.
Where do toy dinosaurs sleep at night? Dig in the toy box, out of sight. Hide the next clue: the toy box. It is where the toy dinosaurs sleep. Bury it one layer down, among the toys.
Wipe your claws before you come in. Under the doormat, look and grin. Hide the next clue: the doormat. Every beast wipes its claws here. Slide it under one corner.

Riddles, ages 7 and up 28

A footprint pressed in my kind can last for ages. Find the largest of us in the yard. Hide the next clue: the biggest rock. A fossil can be a bone, a shell or a print pressed in stone. Set a small stone on the strip, beside the rock.
A giant's stride would skip all of us. You climb us one at a time. Start at the lowest. Hide the next clue: the bottom stair. A place to stomp like a giant. Tape it to the front edge of the step.
A hundred twigs and no trunk. A small plant-eater could hide in me. Look low. Hide the next clue: the bush. A hiding place for a small plant-eater. Clip it to a low twig with a clothespin.
A Triceratops would call me lunch. I sit in a pot and cannot run. Look under my leaves. Hide the next clue: the houseplant. Triceratops ate tough palm fronds. Stand it in the pot, against the stem.
Ankylosaurus grew its armor. You buckle yours under your chin. Look inside it. Hide the next clue: the bike helmet. Ankylosaurus had bony plates covering its body. Lay it inside the helmet.
Base camp for a tired dig team: four legs, and I fold when the day is done. Look beneath. Hide the next clue: the garden chair. Base camp for a tired dig team. Tape it under the seat.
Brachiosaurus ate from my top. You can only reach my trunk. Walk all the way around. Hide the next clue: the tree trunk. Brachiosaurus fed on leaves from tall trees. Tie it around the trunk with yarn, at a child's height.
Climb my neck, sit on my back, slide down my tail. Look where you land. Hide the next clue: the slide. It is a long-neck: ladder for a neck, slide for a tail. Tape it to the foot of the slide.
The dig team hauls the dirt in me. One handle, no lid. Look inside. Hide the next clue: the bucket. The dig team's pail. Drop it in, under a stone.
Every beast in here is extinct until playtime. Lift the lid and dig. Hide the next clue: the toy box. It is where the toy dinosaurs sleep. Bury it one layer down, among the toys.
Every beast must wipe its claws on me before it goes inside. Lift my corner. Hide the next clue: the doormat. Every beast wipes its claws here. Slide it under one corner.
Four legs, a flat back, and it never roars. Crawl under this beast and look up. Hide the next clue: under the kitchen table. It is the dinosaur den. Tape it to the underside of the table.
I am this yard's water hole: one spout, one handle. Look inside before you pour. Hide the next clue: the watering can. It is the water hole of the yard. Drop it inside the dry can.
The last living dinosaurs eat breakfast here: seeds, not meat. Look underneath. Hide the next clue: the bird feeder. Birds are the only dinosaurs still living. Tape it to the pole at a child's height.
Long as a tail, green and coiled. I spit water and never roar. Look in my coils. Hide the next clue: the garden hose. Diplodocus had a very long tail, like a whip. Tuck it between two coils.
Long neck, small head, one bright eye, and it never eats a leaf. Look at its foot. Hide the next clue: the floor lamp. It stands like a long-neck in the corner. Tape it to the foot of the lamp.
My teeth stand in one long row, like the teeth of a Diplodocus. I only bite tangles. Hide the next clue: the comb. Diplodocus had teeth in rows like a comb. Thread it between the teeth of the comb.
Pterosaurs flew. So do I, but two chains always bring me back. Look under my seat. Hide the next clue: the swing. Pterosaurs were flying reptiles of the dinosaurs' time. Tape it under the seat.
Roar at me and the very same beast roars back. I hang on the wall. Check my edge. Hide the next clue: the mirror. The hunters roar at their own reflections. Tape it to the edge of a mirror the hunters can reach.
Round as a nest and made of clay. Nothing has hatched in me yet. Tip me up. Hide the next clue: the empty flowerpot. It is round like a nest. Lay it under the upturned pot.
Stegosaurus carried my kind along its back. You carry cake on me. Look under the pile. Hide the next clue: the stack of party plates. Stegosaurus had bony plates along its back. Slide it under the top plate.
T. rex had sixty teeth and never brushed one. Look where your brushes stand. Hide the next clue: the toothbrush cup. Tyrannosaurus had 60 pointed teeth. Slip it under the cup.
T. rex lived more than 66 million years ago. Its story is printed in here. Open the cover. Hide the next clue: the dinosaur book. Tyrannosaurus lived 68 to 66 million years ago. Any big book will do. Slip it inside the front cover.
This dig site has four walls, a pail and a spade, and plastic fossils. Start digging. Hide the next clue: the sandbox. This is the dig site. Bury it in a zip bag with one corner showing.
Too round for an egg, and I bounce. Something waits under me in the grass. Hide the next clue: the ball. It could pass for a giant egg. Set the ball on top of the strip.
Triceratops had three points like mine. A party guest wears just one. Look inside. Hide the next clue: the party hats. Triceratops means three-horned face. Tuck it inside the top hat of the pile.
Twelve small nests in a cold, dark cave, and not one will ever hatch. Lift the lid. Hide the next clue: the egg carton. Dinosaurs laid eggs, and fossil eggs have been found. Lay it on top of the carton in the refrigerator.
Velociraptor ran on two bare feet. Your two feet wear us to run. Look inside. Hide the next clue: your sneakers. Velociraptor moved on two legs, and its name means quick plunderer. Push it into the toe of one sneaker.

Indoor trail 26

A footprint, a handprint or a paw print On a mat, on a window or in a drawing.
A fruit with a stone or seeds inside The team says which: a peach has a stone, an apple has seeds.
A houseplant leaf bigger than your hand Hold your hand beside it. The leaf stays on the plant.
A pair of shoes bigger than your own feet Stand in them. That is a giant's track.
A picture of a tree or a fern In a book, on a wall or on a box.
A toy with a tail Measure the tail against your hand.
Brush off your hands, the hunt is through. Look ____: it's all for you. The last strip. Write in the blank where the prize waits: in the sandbox, say, or under the party table.
The dig is done, fossil hunters! Your find is buried ____. The last strip. Write in the blank where the prize waits: in the sandbox, say, or under the party table.
The dinosaurs left one thing behind. Look ____ and see what you find. The last strip. Write in the blank where the prize waits: in the sandbox, say, or under the party table.
Every great dig ends with a find. Yours is waiting ____. The last strip. Write in the blank where the prize waits: in the sandbox, say, or under the party table.
No more clues, no more stones to turn. Look ____ for the prize you earned. The last strip. Write in the blank where the prize waits: in the sandbox, say, or under the party table.
The oldest thing in the room Ask a grown-up. A fossil is older still.
Roar! This is the last clue. Stomp over to ____ and claim your find. The last strip. Write in the blank where the prize waits: in the sandbox, say, or under the party table.
Something as long as your arm, elbow to fingertip Your arm is the ruler. Lay it alongside.
Something green that a plant-eater would munch Lettuce, an apple or a houseplant. Point at it.
Something shaped like an egg Longer than it is wide. A ball does not count.
Something that roars or rumbles when it is switched on A vacuum cleaner or a hair dryer. Point, do not switch it on.
Something that was a tree once Wood counts: a spoon, a chair or a pencil.
Something with a hard shell A walnut, a bike helmet or a hard suitcase.
Something with a hook shaped like a claw A coat hanger or a hook on the wall.
Something with a long neck A lamp, a bottle or a toy giraffe.
Something with a pattern like scaly skin A basket, a pineapple or a bath mat.
Something with teeth that cannot bite A comb, a zipper or a fork counts.
Three green things, each a different green Line them up from light to dark.
The trail ends here, brave dig team. Your prize is ____. The last strip. Write in the blank where the prize waits: in the sandbox, say, or under the party table.
You tracked the tracks and cracked each clue. The dinosaur's nest is ____. The last strip. Write in the blank where the prize waits: in the sandbox, say, or under the party table.

Outdoor dig 18

A bird on the ground or in the air The closest thing to a dinosaur you will see today.
A cone or a seed pod On the ground, not on the tree.
A feather a bird left behind Birds are the only dinosaurs still living. Look, and leave it where it lies.
A fern, or a leaf made of many small leaves Ankylosaurus ate ferns, shrubs and fruit.
A footprint in soil, sand or mud Your own counts. Press one beside it and compare.
A hole that something dug Guess who dug it. Fingers stay out.
A leaf longer than your foot Stand beside it to measure.
A leaf with teeth along its edge Run a finger along the edge. Leave it on the plant.
A place where a bird could hide a nest Point from the ground. Nests are not touched.
A stick shaped like a bone Thicker at both ends is best.
A stone as smooth as an egg Hold it in two hands, then put it back.
A stone with a hole or a dent in it A dent deep enough to hold a raindrop counts.
A stone with a line or a stripe through it Look on every side before you say no.
A trail that something left A snail's silver line, a row of ants or a path worn in the grass.
An empty snail shell or a piece of shell Empty only. A shell with someone home stays put.
Bark that looks like scaly skin Triceratops had large, pebbled scales. Feel the bark with a flat hand.
Moss, or something green growing on a stone Look in the shade.
Something a beast with a long neck could reach and you cannot A high branch, a roof or the top of a fence.

How this list was compiled: An original list of October 2026: clues and finds for a dinosaur party at home. Each of 28 hiding places, 14 indoors and 14 in the yard, has a rhyme that names it and a riddle that does not; eight final clues leave a blank for where the prize waits; 36 things to find make the fossil hunt. Nothing was copied from another clue list, and no dinosaur from a film, a show or a toy line appears. The dinosaur facts in the notes were read on 11 October 2026 in the Natural History Museum's Dino Directory, https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/dino-directory.html (the entries for Tyrannosaurus, Stegosaurus, Triceratops, Diplodocus, Velociraptor, Ankylosaurus and Brachiosaurus), and in its article on birds, https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/why-are-birds-the-only-surviving-dinosaurs.html. What a fossil is, that dinosaurs laid eggs and what pterosaurs were follow Wikipedia's articles Fossil, Dinosaur egg and Pterosaur, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossil, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinosaur_egg and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pterosaur, read the same day (text under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license). Every hiding place is one a child reaches from the ground: no stove, oven, garage, pool or road, and no clue asks anyone to climb. Finds are pointed at and left where they are. Licence: own work

How it works

Many clues in this dinosaur scavenger hunt carry a fact a young expert can check: the sixty teeth of a T. rex, the armor of an Ankylosaurus, the whip tail of a Diplodocus. Each fact points at a hiding place.

Read the full guide

Choose the trail

The page opens indoors on Rhymes, which name each hiding place for ages 4 to 6. Riddles describe the same places without naming them, for 7 and up. The menu under the button moves the trail to the Outdoor dig, where the sandbox is the dig site. No party hats or bird feeder? Take that row away with × and press again.

Print the strips

Press Print: every clue prints over a blank line, and the hiding places print on a last page for you. Write where the prize waits in the final clue. Hide the prize first, then each clue at the place the clue before it names.

Fossil finds deals eight things to spot and point at, such as a stone as smooth as an egg. Nothing is collected.
Where a note holds a dinosaur fact, read it aloud at that stop. The named dinosaurs follow the Natural History Museum's Dino Directory.
Seal the outdoor clues in zip bags, so damp sand does not smudge the ink.

Questions and answers

What are some dinosaur scavenger hunt clue ideas?

Tie each clue to something a dinosaur had. The plates of a Stegosaurus lead to the party plates, three horns to the party hats, and the teeth of a Diplodocus, which stood in rows, to a comb. The egg carton and bird feeder work too.

What do you hide at the end of a dinosaur hunt?

Anything that fits a dig: toy dinosaurs, plastic eggs with stickers inside, or party bags in a box marked Fossils.

What age is a dinosaur scavenger hunt for?

The rhymes name every hiding place, so ages 4 to 6 manage with a reader beside them. The riddles suit 7 and up. The fossil find list needs no reading once someone calls out each line.

Can the hunt run indoors on a rainy day?

Yes. The indoor trail draws on 14 hiding places, from the floor lamp to the den under the kitchen table, and the fossil find list has an indoor set: something with teeth that cannot bite, a toy with a tail.