Joanne

In the past, we've created scavenger hunts for our kids when traveling. It keeps them occupied when bored, imparts knowledge that they might not otherwise pick up, and impresses their teachers upon return to school. (Our kids' teachers have always assigned journaling. Scavenger hunts motivate the kids more easily, and are more fun, and as I said, teachers are impressed with the results.) This is what we do: We create a series of scavenger hunt questions that can only be answered by on-site observation. Then we create secondary thinking questions. Questions are based on where you know you'll be going. We xerox the questions, shrinking them in size so that they can be pasted onto a 3" X 5" fat notebook, the kind my kids use for school assignments. A pen is tied to the notebook. Questions are pasted on the left hand side and the right hand side is left blank for answers and explanations. Questions are also divided into geographical categories, i.e. Paris, south of France, Monte Carlo, etc. The day before, the kids read over the questions, and keep the notebooks handy as we're sightseeing. Sometimes a competition develops among my three boys. It has always amazed me that the same question can be asked of all three boys, even though their ages range from 15 to 7. Sometimes additional explanation is required. But the answers are always interesting, and the completed scavanger hunt journal becomes a great record of the kids' holiday. Sample questions: <BR> <BR>How many pieta's did you see in Italy? Tally them here. (Observing question.) What is a pieta? (Thinking question.) <BR> <BR>Does the air in Montepulciano smell the same as the air in Minnesota? (Observing question.) Why does the air smell the way it does? (Thinking question.) <BR> <BR>I'm in the middle of creating the scavenger hunt for Paris, south of France, Monte Carlo, Florence, Montepulciano and Rome. If you email me, I'll send you a copy of the final scavenger hunt when it is done.

kam

Congratulations, Joanne. This is the greatest idea anyone has ever had for travel with children. Hope there are a lot of teachers out there who can suggest this to their parents when asked for what to do when travelling. Enjoy your upcoming trip. <BR>

Helena

Wow! How much fun is this?!? I hate to be redundant with Kam's post, but this must be one of the best new ideas I've read on this site. I'm too old to be considered a kid, but I'd still love to take part in a scavenger hunt (without the teacher appraisal at the end) like that. I may be an adult, but that doesn't mean I notice all the interesting things around me....

Wendy

Joanne: I love this idea! My children keep journals on our trips and my 10 year old created a scrap book after our trip to Scotland this summer, but I think your scavenger hunt idea is fantastic! We are thinking about a trip to Holland next summer and I would love to use this question-answer notebook with both of my children (they'll be 11 and 6). Could you give me any pointers on how you go about writing these questions ahead of time? Are guide books and travel research your sources for your questions? I will e-mail you directly to take advantage of your generous offer of copies of questions you are now developing, but I think information on how you go about creating your scavenger hunts would benefit lots of forum readers who travel with their kids. Thanks!

sunny_weather

Hi Joanne, I realize that this is a really old post, but am hoping that you will get this reply nonetheless. I am now working on a scavenger hunt for an upcoming trip to Paris with my 6 and 8 year olds, and I really liked your sample questions (they seemed very concrete, rather than trivia-based - definitely the way that my kids experience things). I wonder if you still have your completed list of questions for your kids? Also, I am wondering how you develop your questions in advance of your trip (have you been to these places before, or do you rely on guidebooks, friends, etc.)? Thanks!

grandmere

I used a modified version of this when my granddaughter was in kindergarten and still pre-reading, for the most part; I photocopied pictures from kids' books about Paris, and she used this to find the sights. We're going back this spring, and now that she's reading, it will be fun to use "verbal" clues.

ggreen

sunny_weather, this is a really old post - so old that it was before Fodor's had user profiles for members! And sadly it looks like "Joanne" and the others didn't come back and update their memberships once the switch was made in 2002 or '03 (notice you can't click on their names). You could always try contacting the editors and see if they can help - but again, being so long ago, I'm sure even the staff have changed... Hopefully someone else can chime in with some good questions for you though!

janisj

<B>sunny_weather:</B> Start a new thread and ask for scavenger hunt ideas This one is THIRTEEN years old and even if 'Joanne' is still around it isn't w/ this screen name -- AND her kids are grown and have kids of their own by now.

(<B>ggreen:</B> There is no way to know if any of the posters are still around - or to find them. There was no 'renewing' of memberships, just registering. Before registration, some people used many screen names and different folks could use the same screen names)

ggreen

@janisj, yes I know that but was trying to explain in a simplified way to the poster. And while back in the day some ppl used different screen names, others didn't - and registered with the same or similar username they'd use before authentication was required. At any rate, the point was that the thread is really too old to be put back into circulation - but here we are!

janisj

I only commented because of the suggestion to maybe ask the editors to try to find the OP. (BTW - There IS a Fodorite registered as 'Joanne'. But she has not posted since registration. May or may not be the same one.)

grandmere

Sunny_Weather, If I were developing questions and had never been to the place myself, I would rely on guide books, friends, etc. to decide general sights I wanted to see and go from there for my questions. After I read this old post the other night, I sat down and came up with 30 questions for my granddaughter (now 8) about Paris for this upcoming trip. They range all the way from something simple like "What's the name of the river that runs through Paris?" to something she will have to ask someone/read about, "What year was the Eiffel Tower built?".

Peter_S_Aus

Well, I wrote a treasure hunt for Venice two years ago, and posted it. And then, when I was at the Doges palace a couple of months ago, I saw a pair of kids identifying the fruit on one of the columns of the palace - with my treasure hunt in hand. Things like that make the world a smaller, more intimate place, and that's good.

My treasure hunt is here - it needs some editing, MacDonalds near San Marco has closed, for instance!

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-teenagers.cfm

scotlib

Bringing a 13-year-old thread to the top is an amazing sight!

Sorry, I just want to post to get this on my thread list for future use.

sunny_weather has rec'd good advice that a separate thread may help more, but being the top of the list, I'll be holding it up from disappearing only a minute or so longer.

ggreen

Peter, that is SO COOL! Gave me goosebumps, in a good way. Worth the inevitable topping in order to pass along my congratulations.

KTtravel

How amazing, Peter! I do hope the original scavenger hunt poster sees this somehow.

IngridL

Yeay, all! This is just the fun kind of thing that I need for our 6 year old and 8 year old when we do France & Italy this summer!

Thanks for the great idea...and to sunny_weather for finding joanne's post!!!!

Lynne_Goldstein

If you still have any of those scavenger hunt lists for Paris, Rome, Florence or Venice- I would LOVE them! We leave in 2 days with our children & think this sound fantastic!!!

ayyavis

I would really appreciate anybody sending any scavenger hunt lists or pointing in the right direction. We are leaving for Rome and Paris in a week. My kids are 12 and 9 year old.

5alive

With both those cities, the first thought that comes to mind is making a way to enjoy and explore the churches.

Theme one: Gargoyle theme
Observations questions: How many gargoyles did you find?
Where does the water run through them?
(Figures with no water pipes are actually called Grotesques, not gargoyles. But sometimes it can be hard to see the water pipes from down below.)
Thinking questions: Why did the cathedral builders use gargoyles? What message were they sending? How do they compare with the art and imagery inside the church?

Theme two: Stained Glass Windows
What are the stories that these windows tell?
Note: I had a wonderful English-language guide at Chartres years ago, where the guide showed us the stories within some of the stained glass windows. These can include various aspects of the life of Christ. One that I always enjoy is the Jesse Tree, showing the lineage from King David down to Jesus.
Thinking question: Why would people worshipping at this church years ago want the stories on the window?

Great gargoyles at Notre Dame. Some of the best stained glass in the world is quite nearby at St. Chapelle.

In Rome you will see a lot of antiquities.
Observation question: How many different gods and goddessess have you found? (Keep a checklist.)
Observation question 2: Which ones are Greek and which ones Roman? Have them figure out who Jupiter parallels etc.
Thinking Question: Why did the Romans pattern their life after the Greeks? How was Roman life the same or different?

Hunt for statues and paintings that tell a story. In the Vatican Museum the Laocoon is absolutely riveting (and also was the very first work in the Vatican). The River Nile is another great statue from antiquity.

Paintings by Caravaggio almost always tell a story or are full of action. The Entombment of Christ in the Vatican is great, but my favorite is a few blocks from Piazza Navona, the Calling of Matthew in a church called St. Luigi dei Francesi.

nukesafe

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