Teen Scavenger Hunt Ideas

Choose your place in the Any place menu for 10 printable tasks on foot, with no outsiders in the shot.

Teen Scavenger Hunt Ideas

Team nameFinish time

  1. Stay on foot and stay together.
  2. Nobody outside the team appears in a photo or a clip.
  3. Be back by the finish time. One point comes off for every minute late.
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  1. Headphones with a wire1 point. Tangled counts. So does a pair with one working ear.
  2. A sign that gives the distance to another town3 points. Trail signs and old mile markers count. A highway sign seen from a car does not.
  3. Write down all 50 states in three minutes3 points. One pen, everyone calling out. Forty or more earns the points.
  4. Element 79 on a periodic table poster2 points. Gold, symbol Au. Photograph a finger pointing at it.
  5. Each teammate posed as a different pictogram from a sign3 points. Exit runner, crosswalk walker, wet-floor slipper. The judge matches pose to sign.
  6. The two most similarly dressed teammates, posed as twins1 point. Same stance, same expression, same tilt of the head.
  7. A balled-up paper shot into a bin from five big steps away2 points. One take, no cuts. Pick up the misses.
  8. Run a rock-paper-scissors bracket and crown a team champion1 point. Best of three each round. The champion wears a paper crown to judging.
  9. Sports commentary over a teammate tying a shoe3 points. Two commentators, full excitement, slow-motion replay optional.
  10. Fold one sheet of paper into a cup that holds water for ten seconds5 points. The traditional origami cup starts from a square. Test it over a sink or outdoors.

Points: of 24

Next step A whole list of photo promptsMore acting: deal charades

All 100 tasks

Find it 40

  • The 'You are here' dot on an evacuation map 1 point. Most hallways post one near a stairwell or an exit.
  • A bike rack shaped like something other than a bike rack 3 points. Towns commission them as fish, music notes and paper clips.
  • A book someone was assigned for class and actually liked 2 points. The owner gives a one-sentence review at judging.
  • A brick or paving stone with a name engraved on it 3 points. Donor bricks pave many plazas, library steps and ballpark gates.
  • A building whose carved name no longer matches what is inside 5 points. An old bank that sells coffee, a school that became apartments.
  • A business name that is a pun 3 points. Hair salons and bakeries are the places to look. The judge must groan.
  • A calculator that is not a phone 2 points. Bonus point for a word typed upside down: 0.7734 reads 'hello'.
  • A chalkboard sign outside a cafe or a shop 1 point. Read out the best line on it.
  • A championship banner from before anyone on the team was born 2 points. Gym rafters and the cafeteria wall are the usual places.
  • A country that starts with Z on a wall map or a globe 2 points. Zambia or Zimbabwe, side by side in southern Africa.
  • A fire hydrant that is not red 2 points. Yellow, silver, green and blue all turn up. Photograph it from the sidewalk.
  • A flyer on a bulletin board for an event that is already over 2 points. The date on the flyer is the proof. Leave it pinned.
  • A hallway clock that disagrees with your phone 3 points. Both clocks in one photo. A difference of under a minute does not count.
  • A parking sign with at least three separate rules on it 2 points. Bonus point if the team can explain when parking there is actually allowed.
  • A pencil shorter than a thumb 2 points. Measured against the smallest thumb on the team.
  • A piece of student art on display, signed by the artist 2 points. Photograph the work and the signature, not the artist.
  • A poster for a club that nobody on the team belongs to 1 point. Write down when and where it meets.
  • A school photo of a teammate from before sixth grade 2 points. With the owner's blessing. Hairstyles are judged kindly.
  • A shop sign that says 'Since' and a year before any of you was born 2 points. 'Established' counts too. The oldest year of any team earns a bonus point.
  • A sign that gives the distance to another town 3 points. Trail signs and old mile markers count. A highway sign seen from a car does not.
  • A trophy, a medal or a ribbon 1 point. The owner says what it was for.
  • A utility cover in the sidewalk with a town or foundry name cast into it 2 points. Look down. Read the name aloud at judging.
  • A video game older than the youngest player 3 points. The date on the case or the title screen decides it.
  • A yearbook from any year 2 points. Bonus point for finding a teammate inside it.
  • An 'Open' sign that is switched off 1 point. Shoot it through the window from outside.
  • An old photo of the town on public display 3 points. Try the library, the town hall lobby and bank windows.
  • The cabinet that holds the defibrillator 3 points. Marked AED. Look, never open: knowing where it hangs is the point.
  • Element 79 on a periodic table poster 2 points. Gold, symbol Au. Photograph a finger pointing at it.
  • Headphones with a wire 1 point. Tangled counts. So does a pair with one working ear.
  • The highest room number in the building 3 points. Compared across teams, and the highest number earns a bonus point.
  • The last departure of the day on a bus stop timetable 3 points. Write down the time and the route number.
  • The library's closing time, from the sign on its door 1 point. Write it down. It is worth knowing after the hunt as well.
  • The mascot in three different forms 3 points. Painted, printed, stitched or sculpted. Three photos.
  • The number on a bottle-filling station's counter 2 points. The little screen counts bottles saved. The highest number of any team earns a bonus point.
  • The oldest dated trophy in the trophy case 3 points. Write down the year and the sport. The earliest year of any team earns a bonus point.
  • The queen of hearts from a deck of cards 1 point. Put the deck back together afterward.
  • The school motto or mission statement, wherever it is posted 2 points. Read it aloud at judging with a straight face.
  • Something that glows in the dark 3 points. Prove it in a closet with the door shut.
  • The town's name on something that is not a road sign 1 point. A water tower, a bench, a trash can, a banner on a lamp post.
  • The year the school opened, from a plaque or a cornerstone 2 points. Try the main entrance and the wall outside the front office. Write the year down.

Photo 25

  • A comic strip told in four photos, with the team as the cast 5 points. Four frames, a beginning and a punchline. Paper speech bubbles are allowed.
  • A glamour shot of the most boring object you can find 3 points. Portrait mode and good light, shot like a luxury watch. A stapler is ideal.
  • A perfectly symmetrical photo 3 points. A row of lockers, a corridor, a footbridge. The center line runs through the middle of the frame.
  • A photo in which the only bright color is one teammate's jacket or bag 3 points. The judge looks for a second bright color anywhere in the frame.
  • A poster for a movie about your team 3 points. Announce the title and the tagline at judging. Poses only, no editing apps.
  • A sports-card pose from every teammate 2 points. Arms folded, ball on hip, thousand-yard stare.
  • A team photo with nobody looking at the lens and nobody on a phone 1 point. Harder than it sounds when a phone is taking the picture.
  • A teammate pinching the sun or the moon between two fingers 2 points. Line it up on the screen from a few steps back, never by staring at the sun.
  • A timer photo where everyone got into place in three seconds 2 points. Set the three-second timer, prop the phone and run.
  • A top-down shot of everyone's shoes in a circle 1 point. Toes to the center, phone held flat overhead.
  • A yearbook portrait of each teammate with an invented club title 3 points. Present them at judging: 'President, Society of Left-Handed Snackers.'
  • The contents of one backpack laid out in a neat grid 2 points. Every item square to the next. Repack it before moving on.
  • Each teammate posed as a different pictogram from a sign 3 points. Exit runner, crosswalk walker, wet-floor slipper. The judge matches pose to sign.
  • Every hand on the team joined into one star 1 point. Two fingers from each player make a point. Shoot from above.
  • Every teammate as a different emoji face 2 points. The judge names each one. A full set of correct guesses earns the points.
  • Five teammates at five heights: lying, sitting, kneeling, standing, jumping 3 points. Smaller teams double up. Everyone must be in one frame.
  • Hair caught mid-flip or a jump caught at its peak 2 points. Burst mode, then pick the one frame.
  • One teammate who seems to float while the rest stand still 3 points. A small jump, a low camera and burst mode.
  • The same pose in two places at least ten minutes apart 3 points. Show the two side by side. Positions and faces must match.
  • The team arranged as a bar chart, shortest to tallest 2 points. One straight line, shoulders square to the lens, and a teammate's arm as the axis.
  • The team as silhouettes against a bright sky or a window 2 points. Tap the bright part of the screen to darken the figures.
  • The team seen through something: a fence, a bottle or a pair of glasses 2 points. The thing in front stays blurred and the faces stay sharp.
  • The team studying harder than anyone has ever studied 1 point. Books open, brows furrowed. Extra credit if one book is upside down.
  • The two most similarly dressed teammates, posed as twins 1 point. Same stance, same expression, same tilt of the head.
  • Your school colors found side by side somewhere that is not school 3 points. Two parked bikes, a shop sign, a flower bed, a shelf of books.

Video clip 20

  • A balled-up paper shot into a bin from five big steps away 2 points. One take, no cuts. Pick up the misses.
  • A dramatic reading of a cafeteria menu or a bus timetable 2 points. Treat Tuesday's lunch like the last page of a novel.
  • A fifteen-second trailer for a movie about this hunt 5 points. Deep voiceover required: 'In a town with one stoplight...'
  • A frozen scene: the team holds still while the camera walks through 3 points. Pick a moment, such as a dropped book, and freeze in the middle of it.
  • A lip-sync of one chorus with invented choreography 3 points. Fifteen seconds. Everyone moves and nobody sings out loud.
  • A nature documentary about a teammate in their natural habitat 3 points. Whispered narration. The subject must not react.
  • A pencil passed down the whole line using elbows only 2 points. Drop it and the pencil goes back to the first player.
  • A reversed clip that makes something look impossible 5 points. Knock a hat off a head and play it backward, so it leaps up and lands.
  • A ten-second commercial for a pencil 3 points. A name, a slogan and one outrageous claim.
  • A ten-second morning announcement for a school that does not exist 2 points. One invented club meeting and one invented lunch special.
  • A thirty-second how-to clip that teaches one real skill 5 points. Folding a paper plane, a card shuffle, tying a tie. The judge has to be able to follow it.
  • A time-lapse of one sheet of paper filling up with a team drawing 3 points. At least twenty seconds of real time, and every teammate adds something.
  • A water-bottle flip that lands upright 2 points. Your own bottle, a third full. The clip shows the throw and the landing.
  • An interview in which the guest may answer only with questions 2 points. Twenty seconds. A statement ends the clip and the points.
  • Five seconds of slow motion: a jump, a hair flip or a spin 2 points. The slow-motion mode on the phone camera, not an editing app.
  • Sports commentary over a teammate tying a shoe 3 points. Two commentators, full excitement, slow-motion replay optional.
  • Ten seconds filmed from a backpack's point of view 3 points. The bag gets picked up, carried and set down, and it has opinions about it.
  • Thirty seconds on any topic from class with no 'um' and no 'like' 5 points. Teammates raise a finger for each slip. Zero fingers earns the points.
  • The wave, down the line of teammates and back again 1 point. Arms all the way up, or the judge sends it back.
  • The whole team walking in step for ten paces 1 point. Film from the front. One stumble means a retake.

Team challenge 15

  • Build the tallest free-standing tower from one sheet of paper, no tape 3 points. Tearing and folding are allowed. It must stand for ten seconds.
  • Count to twenty as a team with eyes shut, one voice at a time 3 points. Nobody plans the order. Two voices at once and the count restarts at one.
  • Draw the school floor plan from memory, then check it against an evacuation map 3 points. Bring both to judging. Missing wings cost nothing but pride.
  • Each teammate teaches the rest one word in a language they are learning 2 points. The team recites every word at judging.
  • Everyone shuts their eyes and raises a hand at exactly sixty seconds 2 points. A timekeeper watches the clock. One hand within five seconds earns the points.
  • Find a word of eight or more letters on a sign, then make ten smaller words from it 3 points. Write them down. Two-letter words do not count.
  • Fold one sheet of paper into a cup that holds water for ten seconds 5 points. The traditional origami cup starts from a square. Test it over a sink or outdoors.
  • Keep a balled-up sock in the air for thirty touches, no catching 2 points. No player may touch it twice in a row.
  • Line up by birthday, January to December, without speaking 2 points. Hand signals only. The judge checks the order at the end.
  • Make a paper chain of ten links with no tape, glue or staples 3 points. Cut a slot in one end of each strip and a tab in the other.
  • Recite pi to ten digits as a team, one digit per player in turn 3 points. 3.141592653. A wrong digit sends the team back to the 3.
  • Run a rock-paper-scissors bracket and crown a team champion 1 point. Best of three each round. The champion wears a paper crown to judging.
  • Walk twenty steps in a line with a book balanced on every head 2 points. A dropped book sends that player back to the start.
  • Write a six-word story about today 1 point. Exactly six words. The judge counts.
  • Write down all 50 states in three minutes 3 points. One pen, everyone calling out. Forty or more earns the points.

How it works

Every one of these 100 teen scavenger hunt ideas works on foot and costs nothing. For ages 13 to 18, they are 40 tasks to find, 25 to photograph, 20 to film and 15 team challenges, all with points.

Read the full guide

Pick the place first

The Any place menu sets where the hunt runs: School campus holds 75 tasks, Town center 72 and House or sleepover 65, since most photo and video tasks work anywhere. More filters narrows by task type.

Scoring, bonus points and three printed rules

Only 7 tasks are worth 5, such as a thirty-second how-to clip, and Up to 3 points under More filters leaves them out. The note under each task is the judging rule, and several finds pay a bonus point for the oldest year or the highest number. Three rules print on the sheet: stay together on foot, keep outsiders out of every shot, be back on time.

  • At a sleepover, take rows away with × until 5 are left and press Video clip under More filters: five clips fill an evening.
  • Give each team one camera phone and one timekeeper, so nobody films alone.

Questions and answers

What ages are these teenage scavenger hunt ideas for?

Ages 13 to 18. The finds expect a reader who can untangle a parking sign or a bus timetable, and the 5 point tasks are hard for adults too. For 11 and 12 year olds, press Up to 3 points under More filters.

Are these scavenger hunt ideas for high schoolers to use at school?

Yes, after the last bell: choose School campus, whose 16 campus finds sit in hallways, the gym and shared spaces. For freshman orientation, the classroom page has high school scavenger hunt ideas: the locker, the bell schedule, the counseling office.

Do these scavenger hunt ideas for teenagers need a car or money?

No. Every task works on foot inside a boundary you set: the school building, a few blocks of the town center, or one house. Nothing is bought or carried off, and no task asks staff or passers-by for anything.

How do you judge scavenger hunt games for teens?

Each team shows its camera roll at the finish, and the note under each task decides the points. Agree beforehand that nothing gets posted unless everyone in the shot says yes. This page stores no pictures.

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