Have you and your kids ever experienced museum burn-out? Do you find some museums to be so poorly curated that their treasures are difficult to find and enjoy? If so, I have a solution for you. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the Museum Scavenger Hunt. Intrigued? Read on.
It was a supremely hot day in the middle of the summer when we decided to try out the Museum of Islamic Art. Add to that a few difficulties with transportation (we took the wrong minibus) and you know what you get. Cranky children.
I had to act fast. I could see the museum was jam-packed with artifacts, large and small, but none of the exhibits appeared to be interactive. I seriously doubted my youngest child would enjoy reading the dusty exhibit placards. Furthermore, it was clear my older kids were determined to put some distance between themselves and me and I knew they’d just wander the halls of the museum aimlessly, waiting to leave.
I did what I always do in this situation: I sent them on a scavenger hunt. I drafted a quick list of search challenges…oldest item, largest item, most surprising item, ugliest item…you get the idea. They were to take pictures of their “finds” and report back in one hour. Before long, they were texting pictures back and forth of the “most exotic” and “most likely to be found at a garage sale” items they found along the way. Each group (of my kids and their friends) started looking for the other groups’ finds and, before I knew it, the museum visit was a smashing success.
You can do this too! Before your visit to the Museum of Islamic Art, draft a goofy list of scavenger hunt categories. Print it, hand write it, or text it to your kids. You could also provide them with pictures from this post and award extra points for finding these particular items first. Give even more bonus points if the kids read the placards for the items and can say a little something about them when you all meet up again in the courtyard.
I tell you – museum scavenger hunts are a game changer! It’s just what you need to enjoy the little treasures hidden within the Museum of Islamic Art. And you never know…you may even find me there!
