Car Scavenger Hunt Ideas

Use cars as the theme for your next scavenger hunt.yellow car, a honda japanese sport car model image by alma_sacra from Fotolia.com

The next time you want an activity to get your group’s motors running, try a scavenger hunt. Treasure, or scavenger, hunts revolve around finding or making a list of items, within a set period. Although some hunts take place on foot, using your car to get around can really open up scavenger hot spots. Your car can also be inspiration to help you rev up the hunt theme itself.

Alphabet Town

When doing a scavenger hunt “with wheels,” you’ll have much wider access to your local area, so hit the road to score big. Keep cars as the main focus of the hunt, but put them front and center when you assign competitors the task of getting photographed from A to Z. Players can find signs, businesses, roads and other local spots that fill into the alphabet, from “Andy’s Groceries” to “David’s Knit Shop” to “Max’s Diner.” A quick snapshot of the car next to, below or near the sign for the facility and players are off to find the next letter in their list. Groups who make it through the whole alphabet, come up with the most creative shots and who traveled the most miles can win car-related prizes such as fuzzy dice and vinyl stickers.

While many members of your scavenger hunt activity may have driven up to the game in their own cars, a hunt theme of car parts will have them starting right from square one. There are two options in a build-your-own car scavenger hunt; you can assign groups lists of items to hunt around and find, such as wheels, steering mechanisms and seats, or you can let groups come up with their own ideas. The more creative, the better. Cars don’t have to be electronic to win, they just have to resemble the team’s imagination of a fantasy vehicle and hold at least one rider/steerer. Encourage team members not to forget about decorations; spray paint, bumper stickers and car paint can transform a bundle of found “junk” into the winning scavenger hunt car.

A car-themed scavenger hunt lends itself perfectly to scavenging for some interesting materials around town. Along with your goodie list, consider adding a few group activities to the list, involving team members and their vehicle. Examples include a photo of all the team members driving through a car wash or receiving something from a drive-through window. Ask for a photo where as many team members as possible try to fit in the trunk or backseat (with someone standing guard for safety). With these kinds of images, the car becomes part of the “gettable” list of items to scavenge.