Scavenger Hunt Check List

Fill in the Blank for Bonus Points (list type)

• ☐  Acorn or other nuts
   
• ☐  Animal hole in the ground
   
• ☐  Animal tracks
   
• ☐  Ant
   
• ☐  Beetle
   
• ☐  Berries
   
• ☐  Bird
   
• ☐  Birds nest
   
• ☐  Blade of grass
   
• ☐  Butterfly or moth
   
• ☐  Caterpillar
   
• ☐  Clover leaf
   
• ☐  Dark or light green leaf
   
• ☐  Dead tree
   
• ☐  Deer
   
• ☐  Deer tracks
   
• ☐  Dew on a flower or leaf
   
• ☐  Eroded soil
   
• ☐  Evidence of animals
   
• ☐  Evidence of people
   
• ☐  Feather
   
• ☐  Fern
   
• ☐  Frog
   
• ☐  Fungus on a tree
   
• ☐  Grain of sand
   
• ☐  Hole in a tree
   
• ☐  Igneous rock
   
• ☐  Insects on a tree
   
• ☐  Evergreen tree
   
• ☐  Leaf from a hardwood tree
   
• ☐  Ladybug
   
• ☐  Leaf with insect holes
   
• ☐  Lizard
   
• ☐  Metamorphic rock
   
• ☐  Moss
   
• ☐  Mud
   
• ☐  Old, weathered trash
   
• ☐  Pine cone
   
• ☐  Pine needles
   
• ☐  Pine tree
   
• ☐  Poison ivy
   
• ☐  Poison oak
   
• ☐  Rocks with many colors
   
• ☐  Scrap of rope
   
• ☐  Sedimentary rock
   
• ☐  Seeds or seed pod
   
• ☐  Spider
   
• ☐  Spider web
   
• ☐  Squirrel
   
• ☐  Small pebble
   
• ☐  Smooth and shiny rock
   
• ☐  Snail
   
• ☐  Stream or creek
   
• ☐  Tree with blossoms
   
• ☐  Unusual shaped leaf
   
• ☐  Vine
   
• ☐  Wild Flowers
   
• ☐  Worm
   
• ☐  Y-shaped twig
   
• ☐  Something that doesn't belong in nature
   
• Notes:
   

 
 

Action Item Check List

Listen: Describe how each sounds...

• ☐  Birds singing
   
• ☐  Cricket
   
• ☐  Leaves under your feet
   
• ☐  Sound of a bee
   
• ☐  Water running in a creek or river
   
• ☐  Wind in the trees
   

Touch: Describe how each item feels...

• ☐  Prickly plant
   
• ☐  Rotten wood
   
• ☐  Texture of various rocks
   
• ☐  Tree bark
   
• ☐  Wet mud
   
• ☐  Wind blowing on face
   

Smell: Talk about the different odors...

• ☐  Cedar tree
   
• ☐  Flower
   
• ☐  Fresh air
   
• ☐  Green grass
   
• ☐  Pine tree
   

Watch: Talk about what you see...

• ☐  Animals eating
   
• ☐  Animal homes or shelters
   
• ☐  Ant moving something
   
• ☐  Clouds going by
   
• ☐  Fish jumping
   
• ☐  Reflection in the water
   
• ☐  Something funny
   
• ☐  Something unusual
   
• ☐  Spider web w/insect
   
• ☐  Squirrel in a tree
   
• ☐  Sunlight coming through trees
   
• ☐  Trail markers
   
• ☐  Wind blowing the leaves
   

Bonus Point Section: Discuss what you see...

• ☐  Dangerous animal
   
• ☐  Dangerous bug
   
• ☐  Dangerous plant
   
• ☐  Evidence of erosion
   
• ☐  Identify evidence of animal in the area
   
• ☐  Insect home
   
• ☐  Snake - List type (Discuss - Is it poisonous?)
   

 

Parent Discussion Topics with Sample Questions

• ☐  What seeds come from trees (acorn, pine cone) - What animals feed on them?
   
• ☐  Shiny rock (flint, quartz) - How did Native Americans use it?
   
• ☐  Igneous rock (granite) - How do you suppose it was formed?
   
• ☐  Sedimentary rock (sandstone, shale)
   
• ☐  Metamorphic rock (slate, marble)
   
• ☐  Leaf from an evergreen tree (pine) - What animals use it for a home?
   
• ☐  Leaf from a hardwood tree (oak, maple) - How do animals use it for homes and food? [Squirrel as leaf nest, woodpecker for holes.] How do people use it?
   
• ☐  Old, weathered trash - How long has it been there? How long would it take to decompose naturally?
   
• ☐  Fungus - It's a decomposer so check around trees, especially fallen ones.
   
• ☐  Flower - Does something feed on it? (hummingbird, bee)
   
• ☐  Animal's home (nest, den, snail shell) - Why did the animal build it there? (Access to food, water, shelter.) How does it protect against the environment and predators?
   
• ☐  Identify evidence of animal (tracks, feather, scat, marks, snake skin) - What was animal doing here, why was it here?
   
• ☐  Insect home (wasp, ant, spider web) - Why did it build it's home there?
   
• ☐  Dangerous plant (poison ivy, oak, sumac) - How do you treat exposure?
   
• ☐  Dangerous animal (rattlesnake) - How do you avoid? How do you treat?
   
• ☐  Dangerous bug (spider, scorpion, wasp) - How do you avoid them? How do you treat a sting?
   
• ☐  Lizard or snake - What do they eat?
   
• ☐  Evidence of erosion - Why is it bad? How can you help?
   

Scavenger Hunting Tips

Each participant should wear comfortable walking shoes and dress appropriately for both the weather and the hiking conditions. If you will be hiking in an area with a lot of overgrowth, long-sleeved shirts and long pants are recommended to protect the skin. Shorts and t-shirts can be worn underneath outer clothing, then the outter layer can be removed when it is no longer needed.

List of recommended items to bring:

• Rubber gloves are recommended as a health precaution.
• Light Lunch
• Drinking Water
• Notepad or Paper and Pencil
• Sunscreen
• Bug Repellant
• Water Socks (depending on the area)
• Magnifying glass
• Plant life identification book
• Tree identification book
• Animal identification book
• Wild Flower identification book
• Camera
• Walking stick

Have fun and good luck to all our scavenger hunters!

Updated: July 26, 2014