Photo Scavenger Hunt

Cindy here!  Our family just got back from a weeklong vacation to Bear Valley, CA.  My inlaws own a cabin there.  It's less than 5 minutes from beautiful Lake Alpine.

I am a huge fan of scavenger hunts.  Just about every time we travel, I make a scavenger hunt for the trip.  I've made scavenger hunts for Disneyland, for camping, and for numerous other occasions.  (Any excuse to use my scrapbook supplies!)  My 6 year old son had just finished a 3-week online Photography Summer Camp, so I thought it would be fun to do a photo scavenger hunt at Lake Alpine.  (Not to mention, it would be a great way to reinforce the skills he'd learned.)

I started by typing up a list of items I knew we'd be able to find at Alpine.  I kept the list fairly generic, but left room for interpretation and creativity.  I backed the list with patterned paper, added a sticker, and backed the whole thing with cardstock.  Here's how it looked:   

 

I wanted to be able to use these cards again for future trips, so I covered them with clear contact paper.  Then I added grommets and yarn.

 

When it was time for our scavenger hunt, I passed out the lists to the family.  I asked each person to photograph their list before we started.  Later, when it was time for judging, this would make it really easy to find the start of the scavenger hunt photos on the photo card. 

The family took some great pictures of spider webs,

moss,

and an unusual rock.

My husband took this picture of "something alive."  

My sister-in-law took this creative picture of her own shadow.

I loved watching how each person photographed the letters in their name.  My inlaws photographed license plates in the parking lot to spell their names.  Trevor used pinecones, rocks and sticks to spell his name along the trail.

 

My husband Steve took five different pictures and put them together into a collage.  Cool, huh?

 

With a few scrapbook supplies and well under an hour's work, I made a unique photo scavenger hunt that was fun for the whole family.  Not only that, but we can enjoy it again on future vacations.  I'd strongly recommend a scavenger hunt for your upcoming family vacations!