Museum Scavenger Hunt – 70 Finds for Any Museum

Q: Does it work in an art museum with no science hall?

Yes. Pick Paintings and sculpture in the menu: all 14 finds work in an art museum, and The building and its labels adds 14 more that fit any building.

How it works

Art, history, science or all three: this museum scavenger hunt holds 70 finds for any museum, scored 1 to 3 points. No museum or artist is named, so nothing on the list depends on one collection.

Read the full guide

Pick the list that matches the museum

The building and its labels works anywhere, so it opens first. Add Paintings and sculpture for an art museum, History and old things for a history museum, or Science and nature for a science hall. Choose one in the menu beside the main button, then press Print this list.

Quiet rules for a busy gallery

Teams of two or three, walking, voices low. Every find is scored by looking, and the note under each line is the judging rule. Save Sketch, pose and talk for a bench near the end, when legs are tired.

Tips

Ask at the front desk about sketching and photo rules before you hand out the lists.
The last find, Choose the one object you will remember tomorrow, makes a good conversation on the way home.

Questions and answers

What are good things to find in a museum?

Things every museum has in some form: a portrait whose eyes seem to follow you, a coin with a face on it, a fossil of a shell or a leaf, a label that says Gift of, and a room with no windows at all.

Does it work in an art museum with no science hall?

Yes. Pick Paintings and sculpture in the menu: all 14 finds work in an art museum, and The building and its labels adds 14 more that fit any building.

How is a museum scavenger hunt 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

Paintings and sculpture 14

A frame wider than your hand 1 point. Measure by holding your hand up at a distance, never against the frame.
A painting of a meal with at least four people at the table 3 points. Count the people out loud, quietly.
A painting of a ship on a rough sea 2 points. The waves have to look dangerous.
A painting where it is snowing 2 points. Falling snow, not only snow on the ground.
A painting with a clock, a watch or a candle burning down 2 points. Say what time the clock shows, if it shows one.
A painting with a dog in it 1 point. Any size of dog counts, even a tiny one in a corner.
A painting with a mirror inside the picture 3 points. Say what the mirror shows.
A painting with a musical instrument in it 1 point. Name the instrument, or describe it if you cannot.
A picture made only of lines, shapes and color, with nothing real in it 2 points. All team members must agree nothing in it can be named.

Show all 70 finds (61 more)

Paintings and sculpture, continued

A portrait whose eyes seem to follow you as you walk past 1 point. Walk from one side to the other before you claim it.
A sculpture made of something that is not stone or metal 2 points. Wood, glass, paper, clay, fabric or something stranger.
A self-portrait 2 points. The label has to say the artist painted themselves.
A statue missing a nose, an arm or a hand 1 point. Old damage counts. A statue made that way on purpose does not.
A still life with fruit on a table 1 point. Name every fruit you can see.

History and old things 14

A coin with a face on it 1 point. Say which way the face looks: left, right or straight out.
A handwritten letter or page 2 points. Find one word you can read.
A key, a lock or a box made to keep something safe 2 points. Guess what it kept.
A map drawn by hand 2 points. Find the sea on it, and anything drawn in the water.
A pair of shoes that someone really wore 1 point. Guess whose feet they fitted before you read the label.
A piece of clothing with a pattern stitched by hand 2 points. Look close, without leaning on the case.
A pot or a bowl that has been mended 2 points. Look for the cracks, glue lines or missing pieces.
A tool for cooking that is still used today 1 point. Say what we use now instead, if anything.
A toy made more than a hundred years ago 1 point. Say how a child played with it.
An object the label dates to more than 1,000 years ago 2 points. The label's date is the proof. Write it down.
An object whose use the label says is unknown 3 points. The words unknown, uncertain or possibly on the label count.
An old photograph where nobody is smiling 1 point. Count the people who are not smiling.
Something from a place at least 3,000 miles from the museum 3 points. Find where it came from on the label, then agree on the distance.
Something made to carry water 1 point. A jug, a bottle, a bucket or a skin.

Science and nature 14

A bird with its wings spread 1 point. Guess the wingspan in your own arm lengths.
A button, a lever or a screen that visitors are meant to use 1 point. Only touch what the sign invites you to touch.
A crystal with flat faces and sharp edges 2 points. Count its faces.
A cutaway that shows the inside of something 2 points. A body, a machine, a volcano or a building.
A fossil of a shell or a leaf 1 point. The label must call it a fossil.
A machine with gears you can see 2 points. Follow one gear to the next with your eyes.
A map or model of the night sky 3 points. Find one star pattern you know.
A model of a planet or a moon 1 point. Name it before you read the label.
A rock that came from space 2 points. The label must say meteorite.
A skeleton taller than the tallest person in your team 1 point. Stand back and compare, never next to it.
A tooth bigger than your hand 2 points. Hold your hand up at a distance to compare.
An animal shown with its young 1 point. Count the young.
An insect bigger than your thumb 2 points. Hold your thumb up at a distance to compare.
Something that glows, lights up or changes color 2 points. Wait for it if it runs on a timer.

The building and its labels 14

A bench placed in front of one special work 1 point. Sit for ten seconds and look at what it faces.
A drinking fountain or a place to sit and rest 1 point. Rest there before the last room.
A label that says an object is on loan 2 points. Find where it is on loan from.
A label that says Gift of 1 point. Read who gave it, quietly.
A label with a number or a code on it that is not a date 2 points. Copy it down.
A label written in more than one language 2 points. Count the languages.
A room painted a strong color, not white 1 point. Name the color in the fewest words.
A room with no windows at all 1 point. Stand in the middle and check all four walls.
A sign asking visitors not to touch 1 point. Every team member points at it, without touching it either.
A staircase or a ceiling worth looking up at 1 point. Everyone looks up at once.
A window with a view you would paint 2 points. Stand where you would put the easel.
An object in a case all by itself 2 points. Say why you think it got a case of its own.
The earliest year on any label in one room 3 points. Every team checks the same room. The earliest year wins.
The museum map, with a you-are-here mark 1 point. Make it the first find. Agree where the hunt ends.

Sketch, pose and talk 14

Choose the one object you will remember tomorrow 1 point. Everyone names theirs on the way out.
Find a color you cannot name 1 point. Invent a name for it and write it down.
Find a face in something that is not a person 2 points. A cloud, a rock, a pot or a pattern.
Find a work that makes the whole team go quiet 3 points. Everyone must agree.
Find an object made of three or more materials 2 points. Name all three from the label or by looking.
Find something older than your oldest team member's grandparent 2 points. The label's date is the proof.
Find the object that most looks like it belongs in a kitchen today 2 points. Say what it was really for.
Find the smallest object in a room 2 points. Every team member must agree it is the smallest.
Find two objects from the same year 3 points. Both labels must show the year.
Invent a new title for a painting in five words or fewer 1 point. Say it quietly to your team, then read the real one.
Pick the object you would take home, and say why 1 point. Everyone picks, nobody argues.
Sketch one object in sixty seconds 2 points. Pencil only. The team votes on whether it can be named.
Strike the same pose as a statue 1 point. Hold it for five seconds, well away from the statue.
Tell your team the story of one painting in three sentences 2 points. Beginning, middle and end.

How this list was compiled: Written for this site by its editors in September 2026: 70 original finds and tasks for a visit to an art, history or science museum. Nothing was copied from another list, and no museum, artist, collection or object is named, so the list fits any museum. No outside page was read for it: the notes are judging rules, not facts. Every task is done by looking, sketching or talking quietly: nothing is touched, bought or taken, nobody leaves the public rooms, and photos follow the museum's own signs. Points and levels are the editors' judgment. Licence: own work