A scavenger hunt is a really great program for school. If only because of the following simple logic: we don’t learn for school, but for life. And life is a game. So a game is the best school for life. Even more so if it’s a fun game that increases a sense of community, encourages everyone to think for themselves – or even better, to work together in different roles – and also takes place in the fresh air.
In this blog post, we looked at what makes a scavenger hunt – especially an outdoor escape game – a good idea for a school trip. Here are our findings:
Scavenger hunt for school classes – what tasks await you in an outdoor escape game
The game begins with you having to discover the puzzles for yourself – they may be right in front of you or cleverly hidden. So you have to sharpen all your senses and follow every little clue.
The puzzles that you have to crack in the episode are mostly logic puzzles, which in turn are hidden in picture puzzles or other coded messages. Ultimately, the aim is to successfully complete a specific mission – e.g. to find a treasure, solve a criminal case or simply save the world.
This means that the tasks, puzzles and brain teasers are similar to those in a classic escape room and are suitable for children aged 10 and over.
School scavenger hunt: why an outdoor escape game is perfect for school classes
Communication and team building for school classes
An outdoor escape game is all about facing a problem together and finding the right solution. The great thing about it is that it takes place in the analog world and the pupils have to come together as a team in real life. A strong sense of togetherness arises immediately and the children and young people realize how different, perhaps unusual, easy or at some points not so easy communication is when it is not done using emojis, but with body language, facial expressions and the use of heart and brain.
The challenges of the escape game also require different characters – all skills are welcome and valuable in a team. The precise and quiet observer is just as much in demand as the extrovert bubbling over with ideas, who is constantly putting new interpretations up for discussion.
A strong class community is formed from such experiences, which are filled with the pride of a jointly accomplished task.
Ideal for large groups such as school classes
A whole school class is often too big for many activities.
With an outdoor scavenger hunt, many students can join in at once and play the game together, the space is simply much less limited than indoors. The games are designed so that they can be played by five people as well as 50 or more!
Another reason why an outdoor escape game is ideal for large groups is the fact that different interests are covered here – a scavenger hunt like this has the cherry on top, so to speak. Exercise for the sporty, orientation for outdoor fans, puzzles for logic nerds and drama for fans of exciting stories!
In terms of price, outdoor escape games are often even cheaper than a classic escape room.
With the outdoor escape game from OPOLUM students 36% discount and pay only 15€. Teachers even come along for free.
Playful learning through edutainment
Scavenger hunts and outdoor escape games are not only a perfect adventure game for school because of their fantastic stories and puzzles. No, they have – believe it or not – a really great learning factor. On the one hand, movement and play are very beneficial for cognitive development (for all ages). On the other hand, factual knowledge is conveyed and the pupils get to know the city in a playful way.
In this way, education finds its way into the gray cells in a fun way, so it is edutainment in the best sense: education with an entertainment factor. What could be better for a school class?
Discover the Speicherstadt Hamburg in a playful way with OPOLUM ‘s outdoor escape game and uncover the lost knowledge about important historical buildings such as the moated castle, the boiler house or St. Annenplatz. At the end of the tour, each student receives a brochure with the facts they have learned.
Extra point in the school program without Corona requirements
No closed rooms, no large groups in a confined space – which also means: no measures are needed to take account of the possibility of infection. Forget the pandemic for once to your heart’s content and spend a carefree time in a fantasy world that brings joy to everyone involved and releases them back into everyday life and the “real” world with a pleasant feeling of having completed a task together.
Pupils get to know artifacts from the “past”
Perhaps not entirely unimportant these days: finding your way in the world – without a smartphone for once. Is that even possible? You might not learn it in a day, butdealing with a compass, map, position of the sun, binoculars or similar phenomena can be a valuable experience 😉
Top organization – without additional effort for teachers
A scavenger hunt in the form of an outdoor escape game has the indispensable advantage that teachers do not have to spend every free minute meticulously planning a clever game. Such a package with an escape game operator is already wonderfully prepared and every little detail has been thought of. After all, they do this professionally and not for the first time. So they have the necessary experience and structure.
With our outdoor escape game Hamburg, we take care of the on-site introduction. Our tablet app is designed in such a way that the students are navigated through the Speicherstadt in a way that is easy to understand. The clues also come automatically at the right time.
School scavenger hunt: an outdoor escape game for the next school trip
To sum up, there are few things more suitable for a successful school trip than an outdoor escape game: stimulating for the brain, good for the class community, a nice experience away from the pandemic, a safe bet for the teachers.
If your school trip takes you to the beautiful Hanseatic city of Hamburg, then the OPOLUM is of course the first port of call for an outdoor escape game scavenger hunt. Here you discover the Speicherstadt as a class of up to 40 students and solve exciting puzzles on a 3.5 km walk in up to 3 hours. Read more about it here: OUTDOOR ESCAPE GAME HAMBURG.
