A classroom door with a welcome sign on it1 point. Write down the room number. The sign stays on the door.
A classroom library sorted by color, level or author2 points. Write down which. The books stay in their bins.
A hall pass that is not a piece of paper2 points. A wooden block, a lanyard, a rubber chicken. Ask the room's teacher first.
A laminated sign with a bubble or a wrinkle in it2 points. On any wall. It stays on the wall.
A machine nobody has switched on in years3 points. An overhead projector, a tape player, a film strip viewer. Look, and leave it on its shelf.
A paper cutter with its arm locked down2 points. Check the latch by eye. Leave it locked.
A pencil sharpener bolted to a wall2 points. Crank or electric. Test it on a pencil of your own.
A piece of real chalk3 points. A chalk marker does not count. Art rooms and old supply shelves are the best bet.
A reading corner with a rug or a beanbag1 point. Write down the room. Sitting in the beanbag is optional.
Show all 77 tasks (68 more)
Around the building, continued
A recess ball that has gone flat2 points. The squeeze test decides. Tell whoever owns the pump.
A stapler with a name or a room number written on it2 points. Proof that staplers wander. It stays on its desk.
A wall map that pulls down like a window shade3 points. Pull it down gently and let it back up the same way.
A water fountain with a bottle filler1 point. Fill a bottle to prove it.
A yardstick or a meter stick1 point. Measure a teammate's arm span with it, then put it back.
The duty roster for recess, lunch or the bus line1 point. Posted in the staff lounge or the office. Write down which duty comes first in the day.
The fire drill route posted in a classroom that is not yours1 point. Trace it with a finger to the exit it names.
The oldest yearbook in the building3 points. The library or the front office usually has a shelf of them. Write down the year.
School spirit wear from a past year3 points. A shirt, a banner or a pennant with an old date or an old logo. Write down the year.
Find a colleague who 17
Find a colleague who can name every room on your hallway3 points. Check it by walking the hall together.
Find a colleague who can run the sound system in the gym3 points. They do not have to prove it today. They initial your sheet.
Find a colleague who can sing or hum the school song3 points. Eight bars is enough. Applause is required.
Find a colleague who changed classrooms this year1 point. Write down the old room number. They initial your sheet.
Find a colleague who coaches a team or runs a club1 point. Write down which. They initial your sheet.
Find a colleague who eats lunch at a different time than you do1 point. Write down when. Now you know when to visit.
Find a colleague who has a call-and-response for quiet2 points. They teach it to your team. Use it once before the hunt ends.
Find a colleague who has a class pet, or wants one2 points. Write down the animal. They initial your sheet.
Find a colleague who has a classroom job chart1 point. Ask which job the students all want. Write it down.
Find a colleague who has led a field trip and will name the best one2 points. Write down where it went. They initial your sheet.
Find a colleague who has taught at another school1 point. Write down one thing that school did differently. They initial your sheet.
Find a colleague who knows how to load the laminator3 points. They show you. One day you will need this.
Find a colleague who knows where the extra chart paper is kept2 points. They tell you. You go and check.
Find a colleague who teaches a grade or subject you never have1 point. Write down what it is and one thing they love about it. They initial your sheet.
Find a colleague who went to this school as a student3 points. Ask what has changed the most. They initial your sheet.
Find a colleague whose room you have never been inside2 points. Step in, with their say-so, and name one idea you would borrow.
Find a colleague with a spare of something you always run out of2 points. Glue sticks, pencils, tissues. Write down what it is, and remember where.
Riddle clues 16
Bandages, ice packs and a cot. Students find me when a knee is scraped.2 points. Answer: the nurse's office.
Coats, one glove and a lunch box live in me until June. Nobody admits they are theirs.1 point. Answer: the lost and found.
Feed me one worksheet and I hand back thirty. Before first period, I jam.1 point. Answer: the copier.
Glue, paper, markers, scissors. Open my door when a project begins.2 points. Answer: the supply closet.
Hundreds eat in me at once, on trays, and I am empty again by the bell.1 point. Answer: the cafeteria.
I am a case of gold and silver cups, and I get dusted about once a year.2 points. Answer: the trophy case.
I am a room full of stories, and the one place where shh is a rule.1 point. Answer: the library.
I am the first desk a visitor meets, and I keep the sign-in sheet.1 point. Answer: the front office.
I am the room where the grown-ups hide at lunch. I smell of coffee and reheated soup.1 point. Answer: the staff lounge.
I have a curtain and a row of lights, and I hold the winter concert.2 points. Answer: the stage.
I have a slot with your name on it, and I hold your mail until you remember to look.2 points. Answer: the staff mailboxes.
I seal a paper in plastic forever. Warm me up first, and mind your fingers.2 points. Answer: the laminator.
I stand out front on a tall pole. I go up in the morning and come down at night.2 points. Answer: the flag.
My floor has painted lines, my walls echo, and a hoop hangs at each end.1 point. Answer: the gym.
My sinks are stained every color, and my shelves hold clay and paint.3 points. Answer: the art room.
Pins, borders and paper letters. I change with every season, in theory.2 points. Answer: a bulletin board.
Team photos 12
Every teammate holding a library book they would recommend2 points. Each book goes back where it came from, or to the librarian's cart.
One teammate reading a picture book aloud to the rest, who sit on the rug3 points. Cross-legged, eyes on the reader. The book goes back on its shelf.
Your team acting out the school mascot2 points. The judge has to name the mascot without being told.
Your team at a lunch table, acting as if the bell just rang2 points. Trays are optional. Running is not allowed, even in a photo.
Your team at the front entrance, under the school's name1 point. Stay on the walkway.
Your team in a straight, silent line at a classroom door2 points. The line you ask students for. The judge marks down for talking.
Your team on the stage, taking a bow2 points. Ropes, lights and curtains are left alone.
Your team pointing to your own rooms on a posted map of the building2 points. The evacuation map beside a door works.
Your team standing behind the smallest chairs in the building2 points. Stand behind them. Those chairs were not built for adults.
Your team under a basketball hoop, in the middle of a cheer1 point. Feet stay on the floor.
Your team with the principal, or with the principal's door3 points. A closed door counts. Knock only if it is open.
Your whole team sitting at student desks, hands raised1 point. In a teammate's own room. Desks go back in their rows.
Know your school 14
How many classrooms are on your hallway1 point. Count the doors with a room number.
How many grade levels the building holds, lowest to highest1 point. Write them as a range.
How many paces from your door to the nearest staff restroom2 points. At walking speed. Every team's number will differ.
The mascot's own name, if it has one3 points. A bear with a name of its own. An old yearbook usually knows.
The name on the oldest plaque in the building2 points. Lobbies, libraries and gym walls are the places to look.
The nearest exit to your own classroom, and where it lets out2 points. Walk it once. This one is worth knowing.
The room number farthest from the front office2 points. Walk it. Disputes are settled in paces.
The room or phone extension for tech help2 points. Write it somewhere you will still find it in a month.
The school colors, and where you saw them first today1 point. Write down both.
The time the first lunch starts1 point. From the posted schedule, not from memory.
What the school is named after2 points. A person, a street, a town. The front office settles arguments.
Where the spare key to your room is signed out2 points. Ask at the front office. Write down who holds the log.
Where visitors sign in, and what they are handed1 point. Write down both.
Which door students use at arrival, and which at dismissal2 points. They are often different doors. Write down both.
How this list was compiled: An original list of October 2026: 77 tasks for the staff of a school to do in teams in their own building, on a training day or before a staff meeting. Eighteen are things to find around the building, 17 are colleagues to find, 16 are riddles whose answer is a room or a thing every school has, 12 are team photos and 14 are facts about the school to write down. Nothing was copied from another list. The list states no facts about any school: every answer is read off the team's own building. No task asks about a colleague's age, family, health, faith or background, and nobody has to answer. No task opens a desk, a mailbox or a file, and no photo shows a student's name, face or work. Points are a judgment of how hard a task is, not a standard. Licence: own work
How it works
This teacher scavenger hunt is for the staff: teams walk their own building on a training day and come back knowing who can load the laminator and where the spare key is signed out. For a hunt with students, see the classroom list.
Read the full guide
Five lists in one sheet
The sheet opens on ten tasks drawn from the whole list. The menu narrows it to Around the building, Find a colleague who, Riddle clues, Team photos or Know your school. New staff get the most from Know your school: the nearest exit, the tech help extension, which door students use at dismissal.
Riddles as a clue trail
For a teacher school treasure hunt, choose Riddle clues. Each answer is a room or a thing that stays put, such as the lost and found or the staff lounge, so the next riddle hides there and the last place holds the coffee. Press Hide all notes before you print, and the answers move to a page of their own.
Mix the teams across grades and departments. The colleague finds work best among people who rarely meet.
Say which wings are open before anyone sets off, and which rooms are being cleaned.
Questions and answers
What are some teacher scavenger hunt riddles?
Three from the list. I seal a paper in plastic forever: the laminator. Coats, one glove and a lunch box live in me until June: the lost and found. I am the room where the grown-ups hide at lunch: the staff lounge.
How do you run one at a staff meeting?
Split into teams of three or four, hand each a printed sheet and name a finish time. Teams tick what they find and write down what they learn. Read the colleague finds aloud at the end: they are the part people talk about.
What should new teachers look for around the school?
What the first week asks for: the copier, the supply closet, the staff mailboxes, where visitors sign in, the nearest exit to their own room and who to call for tech help.
Is this for meet the teacher night?
No. That one is for families, and it has its own list: the open house scavenger hunt. This one is for the adults who work in the building.