Some summers can fly by and before you know it, it’s back to school and back to work. Others drag on and you’re excited when it’s over and back to life. Don’t let this summer be one of those kinds of summers. Here are a few treasure hunt ideas for a pirate-themed scavenger hunt.
The Pirate Booty
First things first. For your pirate hunt, you’ll need a few props. Possibly the most important of all is a chest full of treasure. If you’re crafty, you can fashion one from a cardboard box and decorate it using additional strips of cardboard painted black or draw on the bracings and the lock to the chest. Alternatively, if you have a suitable small chest or decorative box around your home, it’s the perfect time to put it to good use. Lastly, fill it with chocolate golden coins, costume jewels and ring pops.
X Marks the Spot
It’s not a treasure hunt without a treasure map. Once you’ve got your treasure chest and you’ve come up with the perfect hiding spot, it’s time to make your map. Whether your scavenger hunt clues will lead the children to a clothes closet, a spot beneath the porch or in the sandbox, you’ll want to give your map that authentic pirate look. Age the map paper by ripping apart the edges, crumpling the paper into a ball, flattening it, and then placing it on a cookie sheet. Pour tea or coffee over your paper, and once it’s dried, it will have an aged color.
When you’re charting your map to the hidden treasure, have different shapes and styles of lines that lead from point to point. Add a little physical activity into the hunt by having each type of line represent a different way of moving that your pirates must do. For example, a straight line means to run, a loopy line means to spin, a dotted line means to walk and a zig-zagged line means to skip. Along the way to the treasure, your little pirates will have to solve pirate-themed riddles to determine which is the next path to take.
Beware the Crocs
If you want to create a creepy crocodile’s cover, you can use either plastic crocodiles or create some using cardboard boxes and toilet paper rolls painted to look like crocs. Next, create some skulls and bones from posterboard and scatter the bones and crocs near a pool or sandy area. If you think your pirates are daring, you can hide the treasure chest in the crocodile’s cove.
Get the Look
As the children solve their first swashbuckling riddle, it can lead them to a stash of pirate gear so they can dress in a few pirate essentials. Here you can leave some tattered clothes collected from around the house and eyepatches made from string and pieces of cloth. Using cut plastic coat hangers, you can even create some hook hands for the little mateys. Now that they look the part, have the next riddle lead them to the treasure map and the hunt is on. With these fun treasure hunt ideas, your group of pirates will be exclaiming “shiver me timbers” as they hunt for the hidden treasure.