Shape Scavenger Hunt Printable

Pick a shape, deal ten things to find, print the list.

Word Games
155 finds
Updated Sep 2026
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Cube: a sugar cube or a stock cubeAsk a grown-up to check the pantry. Count the faces without unwrapping it: six.
Circle: the drain in a sink or a tubDrains are circles because the pipes under them are round.
Diamond: a patch on a quiltDiamonds fit together with no gaps, so a whole quilt can be made of them.
Circle: the rim of a drinking glassLook down into it. The rim is a circle even when the glass is tall.
Square: a paving slab on a patio or a pathStand on one and look at all four corners.
Spiral: the curled tip of a new fern leafNew fern leaves unroll from a tight spiral called a fiddlehead. Spring is the season to look.
Rectangle: a light switch plateLook, do not flip. The plate on the wall is the rectangle.
Oval: a pebble worn smoothWater tumbles stones until the corners are gone. Leave it where you found it.
Spiral: the whorl of a fingerprintLook closely at a fingertip. Some prints curl into a spiral called a whorl, and others make loops or arches.
Square: one pocket of a waffleEach dent in a waffle is a small square. Count how many fit in one row.

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Shape Scavenger Hunt Printable: how it works

This shape scavenger hunt printable pairs every shape with a real object: a circle is the lid of a jar, an octagon is a stop sign, a spiral is a snail's shell. It holds 155 finds in 16 shapes for ages three to seven, with an adult alongside. Press a shape chip to hunt one shape, then print.

One shape this week, or all sixteen

Press a chip such as Triangles and New finds deals ten of them: a clothes hanger, a yield sign, the play button on a remote. Indoors holds 120 finds for a wet day. Outdoors holds 55 for a walk, with road signs and parked cars spotted from the sidewalk. Lock what your rooms have, Swap what they lack, then Print a sheet for each child.

What the note under each find teaches

The Common Core kindergarten standard asks children to name shapes "regardless of their orientations or overall size", so the notes keep turning things over: a sticky note stood on its corner is still a square, and a yield sign is a triangle on its point. A pizza slice has one curved side. A ball is a sphere, not a circle. Solid shapes holds 20 finds: five each of spheres, cubes, cylinders and cones.

Tips

For ages three and four, deal 5 and press Circles, Squares or Triangles. A mixed 15 on a clipboard suits six and up.
Before a find counts, the child traces its edge in the air and counts the sides aloud.
No printer? Read the list from the phone and have the child draw each find on blank paper.

Questions and answers

What ages is this shape hunt for?

Three to seven, with someone older reading the list. Circles, squares, rectangles and triangles suit preschool. Hexagons and the four solids match kindergarten geometry. Octagons, crescents and spirals stretch first graders, and the hard finds need close looking, such as the star inside an apple cut across the middle.

Is a diamond the same as a rhombus?

Yes. Diamond is the everyday name for a rhombus, a shape with four equal sides. Two of the 12 diamond finds start arguments worth having. A toy kite has two short sides and two long, so mathematicians call that shape a kite. A baseball diamond has its bases at the corners of a square, and a square is one kind of rhombus.

Do children collect the objects?

No. They look, point and say the shape's name, and nothing is picked, carried off or bought. Every outdoor find can be seen from a sidewalk, a yard or a park path. The notes on anything sharp, breakable or alive say to look and leave it where it is.

All 155 finds

Circles 12

Circle: a bicycle wheel A wheel has to be a circle to roll smoothly. Spot two on one bike.
Circle: a button on a coat Leave it on the coat. Count the holes while you are there: two or four.
Circle: a dinner plate seen from above Look straight down on it. From the side of the table the same plate looks like an oval.
Circle: a hula hoop A hoop is all edge and no middle, and it is still a circle.
Circle: a manhole cover Spot it from the sidewalk with a grown-up. A round cover cannot drop through its own hole.
Circle: the center of a daisy or a sunflower The petals stand around it like the numbers around a clock face.
Circle: the drain in a sink or a tub Drains are circles because the pipes under them are round.
Circle: the face of a wall clock Trace the rim with a finger. A circle has no corners and no straight sides.
Circle: the letter O on a sign or a book cover In many typefaces the O is closer to an oval. Decide together which one you found.
Circle: the lid of a jar The jar is a cylinder. Its lid, seen from above, is the circle.
Circle: the rim of a drinking glass Look down into it. The rim is a circle even when the glass is tall.
Circle: the ring left by a wet cup Set a damp cup on paper and lift it. The ring is a circle you made yourself.

Squares 12

Square: a couch cushion or a throw pillow Measure two sides in hand-widths. The same number both ways means square.
Square: a cracker Four equal sides. Then eat the evidence.
Square: a floor or wall tile Check it: four sides the same length and four matching corners. Longer one way makes it a rectangle.
Square: a letter key on a keyboard Letter keys are close to square. The space bar is a long rectangle.
Square: a paper napkin Fold a square napkin corner to corner and you get a triangle.
Square: a paving slab on a patio or a path Stand on one and look at all four corners.
Square: a slice of sandwich bread Nearly square. If the top is rounded, say which side is not straight.
Square: a sticky note Turn it so it stands on one corner. It is still a square.
Square: a windowpane Some panes are squares and some are rectangles. Compare two sides before you count it.
Square: one pocket of a waffle Each dent in a waffle is a small square. Count how many fit in one row.
Square: one space on a checkerboard The board is 8 squares across and 8 down, and the whole board is a square too.
Square: the lid of a board game box Give the lid a quarter turn. A square looks exactly the same afterward, and a rectangle does not.

Rectangles 13

Rectangle: a bed seen from the doorway The mattress is a big rectangle and the pillow is a small one.
Rectangle: a brick in a wall Every brick face is a rectangle, and each row is shifted so the joins do not line up.
Rectangle: a door Two long sides, two short sides and four matching corners.
Rectangle: a doormat One on each side of the front door counts as two.
Rectangle: a license plate on a parked car Spot it from the sidewalk with a grown-up.
Rectangle: a light switch plate Look, do not flip. The plate on the wall is the rectangle.
Rectangle: a playing card A rectangle with rounded corners. The shapes printed on it may be hearts or diamonds.
Rectangle: an envelope Look at the back. The flap is a triangle sitting on a rectangle.
Rectangle: one step of a staircase Look from the bottom, holding the rail. Each tread is a long thin rectangle.
Rectangle: the cover of a book Open the book flat and you get a wider rectangle made of two.
Rectangle: the door of a mailbox or a mail slot Your own mailbox, or one you can see from the sidewalk.
Rectangle: the front of a cereal box The box is a solid called a rectangular prism. Each of its six faces is a rectangle.
Rectangle: the screen of a phone or a tablet Turn it sideways. It is still a rectangle, only lying down.

Triangles 13

Triangle: a clothes hanger Ignore the hook. The part that holds the shirt is a triangle.
Triangle: a flag on a string of party bunting Each little flag is a triangle hanging point down.
Triangle: a musical triangle One corner is left open so it can ring. Talk about whether an open shape still counts.
Triangle: a play tent seen from the front A blanket over a rope makes the same shape.
Triangle: a sandwich cut corner to corner One square of bread makes two triangles.
Triangle: a slice of pizza Two straight sides and a curved crust, so it is nearly a triangle. Say which side is not straight.
Triangle: a swing set seen from the end The two legs and the ground make a tall letter A, which is a triangle.
Triangle: a tortilla chip Three corners and three sides, even when the sides curl.
Triangle: a yield sign A yield sign is a triangle standing on its point. Upside down is still a triangle.
Triangle: the end wall under a sloping roof Where two slopes of a roof meet, the wall beneath them is a triangle called a gable.
Triangle: the frame of a bicycle Look between the wheels. The tubes make triangles because a triangle holds its shape when pushed.
Triangle: the play button on a screen or a remote It points to the right. Pause is two rectangles and stop is a square.
Triangle: the sail on a toy boat or in a picture Bath toys and picture books both count.

Ovals 13

Oval: a bar of soap New bars often have corners. A used one wears down toward an oval.
Oval: a bathtub seen from above Some tubs are ovals and some are rectangles with rounded corners. Which is yours?
Oval: a grape, a lemon or an avocado from the side From the end, the same fruit looks like a circle.
Oval: a leaf Many leaves are ovals with a point at one end. Take one from the ground, not from the plant.
Oval: a mirror in a bathroom or a hallway Look, do not touch. No corners and longer one way than the other.
Oval: a pebble worn smooth Water tumbles stones until the corners are gone. Leave it where you found it.
Oval: a round plate seen at a slant A circle seen from the side looks like an oval. Walk around the table and watch it change.
Oval: a running track Two straight sides joined by two half circles. Grown-ups call this exact shape a stadium.
Oval: a serving platter Ask a grown-up to show you one. Longer one way than the other, with no corners.
Oval: a toilet seat An oval with the middle missing. Lid down when you are done.
Oval: an egg The word oval comes from the Latin word for egg. One end is rounder than the other.
Oval: the bowl of a spoon Look at your reflection in it while you are there. It is upside down.
Oval: the number 0 on a clock, a phone or a front door A zero is usually a tall oval. Compare it with the letter O beside it if you can.

Diamonds 12

Diamond: a baseball infield, at a park or on TV It is called a diamond, but the four bases sit at the corners of a square.
Diamond: a diamond on a rug or on wrapping paper Look for a shape with four sides that stands on a point.
Diamond: a gap in a chain-link fence Every gap is a small diamond. Look, and keep fingers out.
Diamond: a gap in a garden trellis Criss-cross slats leave diamond holes for plants to climb through.
Diamond: a kite, real or in a picture Grown-ups call this exact shape a kite: two short sides at the top and two long ones below.
Diamond: a pane in a criss-cross window Old cottages, churches and storybook houses have them. Spot it from the sidewalk.
Diamond: a patch on a quilt Diamonds fit together with no gaps, so a whole quilt can be made of them.
Diamond: a square tile laid on its corner A square standing on one corner is still a square, and a square is one kind of diamond.
Diamond: a yellow warning sign beside the road In the United States and Canada most warning signs are yellow diamonds. Spot it from the sidewalk.
Diamond: the diamonds on a playing card The suit is named for the shape: four equal sides, standing on a point.
Diamond: the gap between your two hands Touch thumb to thumb and pointer to pointer. The gap is a diamond you can carry around.
Diamond: the pattern on an argyle sock or sweater Argyle is rows of diamonds with thin lines crossing through them.

Hexagons 12

Hexagon: a cell of honeycomb, real or on a honey jar Bees build six-sided cells. The shape leaves no gaps and uses little wax.
Hexagon: a gap in chicken wire Garden fences and rabbit hutches. The wire is twisted so every gap has six sides.
Hexagon: a nut on a bolt Look on a bike, a bench or a swing set. Six flat sides give a wrench something to grip.
Hexagon: a nut on the wheel of a parked car Spot it from the sidewalk with a grown-up. Each nut that holds the wheel on has six sides.
Hexagon: a panel on a classic soccer ball The classic ball has 20 hexagons and 12 pentagons. The pentagons are usually the black ones.
Hexagon: a plate on a turtle's shell, in a book The plates are called scutes, and many of them have six sides.
Hexagon: a six-sided paving stone Count the sides by walking around one stone.
Hexagon: a six-sided tile from a board game Check the game shelf. Six-sided tiles fit together with no gaps, and each one touches six neighbors.
Hexagon: a small six-sided bathroom floor tile Older bathrooms often have them. They fit together with no gaps, like honeycomb.
Hexagon: a snowflake, real or cut from paper Snow crystals start as a tiny hexagon and grow an arm from each of the six corners.
Hexagon: the end of a wooden pencil Look at the unsharpened end. Six flat sides keep it from rolling off the desk.
Hexagon: the hole in a flat-pack furniture bolt The little bent key that comes in the box has six sides, and so does the hole it fits.

Octagons 9

Octagon: a gazebo or a bandstand in a park Count the posts as you walk around it. Many park gazebos have eight sides.
Octagon: a paper square with its corners cut off Make one. Snip the four corners off a paper square and four sides become eight.
Octagon: a stop sign Count the sides from the sidewalk: eight. The shape was chosen in the 1920s so drivers know it even from the back.
Octagon: a stop sign in a toy set or a picture book Count the corners with a finger. Eight corners, eight sides.
Octagon: an eight-sided floor tile Octagons cannot cover a floor alone. Look for the little squares that fill the gaps.
Octagon: an eight-sided mirror, clock or picture frame Look, do not touch. Count each straight edge once.
Octagon: an eight-sided plate or serving dish Ask a grown-up to check the cupboard. Count the flat edges around the rim.
Octagon: an eight-sided window Look high on house fronts and above garage doors. Spot it from the sidewalk.
Octagon: an open umbrella seen from underneath Count the ribs. Eight ribs pull the edge into eight sides.

Crescents 10

Crescent: a banana Hold it up like a smile, then like a frown. Same crescent.
Crescent: a croissant The name is the French word for crescent.
Crescent: a moon in a bedtime book or on a night-light The crescent faces left in some books and right in others. The real moon does both.
Crescent: a piece of elbow macaroni Dry, from the box. A curved tube looks like a crescent from the side.
Crescent: a round cookie with one bite gone Bite a circle out of a circle and a crescent is what is left.
Crescent: a slice of melon A slice of melon curves like the moon. An orange segment is close, with one straighter edge.
Crescent: the lit side of a ball held near a lamp In a dim room, hold a ball beside a lamp and walk around it. The lit part thins to a crescent, as the moon does.
Crescent: the moon on a night when it is not full Look from a window or the yard with a grown-up. A thin crescent shows soon after sunset or before sunrise.
Crescent: the mouth on a smiley face A thin smile is only a curved line. A wide open one is a crescent.
Crescent: the white tip of a fingernail Look at the base of a thumbnail too. Many people have a pale half-moon there.

Spirals 13

Spiral: a cinnamon roll or a swirl cookie Start in the middle and follow the line out with your eyes.
Spiral: a coiled garden hose Seen from above, each loop sits outside the last.
Spiral: a roll of tape or ribbon seen from the side It looks like rings, but it is one long strip wound around and around.
Spiral: a seashell Look at the pointed end. The shell grew around and around as the animal got bigger.
Spiral: a snail's shell Look after rain, low on walls and leaves. Watch it and leave the snail where it is.
Spiral: a spider's web A round web is a spiral of sticky thread laid over straight spokes. Look, and do not touch.
Spiral: a swirl lollipop Two colors wound together make the spiral easy to follow.
Spiral: the bottom of a pinecone Turn it over. The scales run outward from the stem in curving spirals.
Spiral: the curled tip of a new fern leaf New fern leaves unroll from a tight spiral called a fiddlehead. Spring is the season to look.
Spiral: the end of a rolled-up towel or yoga mat Roll anything flat and the end shows a spiral.
Spiral: the whorl of a fingerprint Look closely at a fingertip. Some prints curl into a spiral called a whorl, and others make loops or arches.
Spiral: the wire of a spiral notebook A spiral that climbs like this one is called a helix. A spring is a helix too.
Spiral: water going down the drain Pull the plug after a bath and watch the water spin into a spiral.

Stars and hearts 16

Heart: a heart made with two hands Curl your fingers down and touch your thumbs together at the bottom.
Heart: a heart on a greeting card Two round bumps on top and one point at the bottom.
Heart: a heart on a grown-up's phone keyboard Ask a grown-up to open the picture keyboard. There are hearts in many colors.
Heart: a heart printed on a shirt, a sock or pajamas The laundry basket is a good place to look.
Heart: a heart-shaped box, locket or cookie cutter Fold a paper heart in half down the middle. Both sides match.
Heart: a heart-shaped leaf Lilac, redbud, violet and morning glory all have heart-shaped leaves. Look low on bushes and vines.
Heart: a strawberry cut in half from top to bottom Ask a grown-up to slice it. The cut face is close to a heart.
Heart: the hearts on a playing card Find the card with the most hearts on it.
Star: a badge or a wand in the dress-up box Toy sheriff badges and fairy wands are nearly always stars.
Star: a sea star in a book or an aquarium tank Most sea stars have five arms. Count them from the tip of one to the tip of the next.
Star: a star on a flag The stars on the United States flag have five points each.
Star: a star ornament or a star on a string of lights Check the box of decorations with a grown-up.
Star: a star sticker on a chart Count the points. Most sticker stars have five.
Star: a star-shaped cookie cutter Press it into play dough and count the points on the print.
Star: the little star on a keyboard or a phone keypad It is called an asterisk, from the Greek for little star. Count its points: five, six or eight.
Star: the star inside an apple Ask a grown-up to cut an apple across the middle, not top to bottom. The seed pockets make a five-pointed star.

Solid shapes 20

Cone: a kitchen funnel A cone with the point cut off and a tube in its place.
Cone: a party hat Unroll a paper one and it turns into a flat shape like a slice of pie.
Cone: a traffic cone Spot it from the sidewalk with a grown-up and leave it where it stands.
Cone: an ice cream cone A circle at the top that narrows to a point.
Cone: the tip of a sharpened pencil Look, do not poke. The sharpener carves the wood into a cone.
Cube: a cube-shaped tissue box The tall boxes are close to cubes. The long flat ones are rectangular prisms.
Cube: a die from a board game Six faces, all squares. The dots on opposite faces of a standard die add up to 7.
Cube: a sugar cube or a stock cube Ask a grown-up to check the pantry. Count the faces without unwrapping it: six.
Cube: a wooden building block Check that every face is a square. A longer block is a rectangular prism.
Cube: an ice cube Few ice cubes are true cubes. Look at one and say which faces are not square.
Cylinder: a can of food A circle on top, a circle on the bottom and a label that unrolls into a rectangle.
Cylinder: a crayon A cylinder with a cone on the end, until the point wears down.
Cylinder: a paper-towel tube A hollow cylinder. Look through it and the far end is a circle.
Cylinder: a rolling pin It rolls one way only. A sphere rolls every way and a cube not at all.
Cylinder: the trunk of a tree Wrap your arms around it. A trunk is a rough cylinder that gets a little wider each year.
Sphere: a ball A ball is a sphere, not a circle. A circle is flat, and a sphere rolls in every direction.
Sphere: a globe The Earth is very nearly a sphere, so a globe is its most honest map.
Sphere: a pea or a blueberry Small spheres, and the reason both escape from forks.
Sphere: a soap bubble Blow one outside. A floating bubble pulls itself into a sphere.
Sphere: an orange Roll it across the table. Spheres have no flat face to stop on.

How this list was compiled: Written for this site by its editors in September 2026: 155 original finds, each one a named shape paired with an everyday object a child of three to seven can spot at home, in a classroom or on a walk with an adult. Every find was screened against the site's rules for children's pages: the child looks and points, nothing is bought, picked, climbed or taken, road signs and cars are spotted from the sidewalk with an adult, and anything sharp, hot or breakable says look, do not touch. Shape names were checked against https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_two-dimensional_geometric_shapes on 2026-09-18 (circle, oval, crescent, heart, spiral, rhombus, hexagon, octagon, star polygon, and stadium for the running track). Facts in the notes were checked on 2026-09-18 against the Wikipedia articles Stop sign (red octagon, shape selected in 1922, recognizable from the back), Yield sign (inverted triangle), Warning sign (yellow diamonds in the United States and Canada), Hexagon (honeycomb cells, turtle scutes), Truncated icosahedron (12 pentagons and 20 hexagons on the classic soccer ball), Snowflake (a minute hexagon that grows six arms), Rhombus (a rhombus with right angles is a square; the card suit is named for the shape), Baseball field (the infield is a 90-foot square), Oval (from Latin ovum, egg; a running track is most correctly called a stadium), Spider web (the sticky spiral of an orb web), Asterisk (Greek for little star; five, six or eight points) and Pentagon (five-part symmetry of apples and sea stars). The kindergarten shape names in the page copy (squares, circles, triangles, rectangles, hexagons, cubes, cones, cylinders and spheres) and the wording 'regardless of their orientations or overall size' are from Common Core standards K.G.A and K.G.A.2 as reproduced at https://www.ixl.com/standards/common-core/math/kindergarten, checked 2026-09-18. Easy, medium and hard are the editors' judgment. Licence: own work