Scavenger Hunts for Kids & School Field Trips in Pittsburgh

One hunt, two museums—double the fun!

Whoever said less is more didn’t go on this scavenger hunt, which shows you the best of two great museums under one roof: the Carnegie Museum of Art and the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. From triceratops to Seurat, from dioramas to Degas, and from mummified pharaohs to colorful van Goghs, you’ll explore it all on this team-building trek by following clues through the exhibits in search of answers to tricky, humorous questions.

You might tackle challenges like these…

• Enter the Hall of Architecture and pass someone who makes you say “D’oh!” Continue toward icy doors. Who or what is unlucky enough to have “snake eyes”? Answer: Past a bust of Homer and near doors from Iceland, a sheep or ram skull has a snake wriggling through its eye sockets.
• Visit Dinosaurs in Their Time, a room of old bones. What “shady lady” first sold seashells by the seashore? Answer: Mary Awning, the fossil hunter who inspired the famous tongue twister. (Awning, shady…get it?)

The questions are designed so that you can figure out the answer only when you’re standing in the right spot. No knowledge of the museum or its contents is necessary to play or to win: you just need to pay attention to the details, use your wits, and work well with your team.

For ages 7 and up, the Kids Edition is great for school field trips.

Care to make it a mystery? A Murder Mystery Edition is also available.

What delighted clients are saying

A 5-star review on Google: “We’ve hosted multiple company scavenger hunts across multiple offices and all feedback from attendees was great! Watson Adventures was super accommodating to our groups and super friendly—not only are you learning new things about the city that you would have never known otherwise, you are having fun while doing so! We will definitely be using them again in the future!”

“We had a FANTASTIC time. We have a lot of people on our staff with an appreciation for art and history, so this was right up our alley. Staff who don’t typically work together got a chance to team up and it was just an all-around great experience.” —Shannon Deely, Community Events Coordinator, DVSSP

Contact us to learn more about our Carnegie Museums scavenger hunts—and find more fun in Pittsburgh!

Beware: there’s a killer in your midst

Someone playing this game with you is a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde. His or her good side knows nothing about the evil side—and the evil side has challenged you to prevent your own murder. Everyone in your group has been poisoned, and the clock is ticking down on your time left to live. To reveal the killer’s identity, you’ll have to complete a series of photo challenges, solve interlocking puzzles, decipher coded text messages, and more. If you succeed, you get the antidote. If you fail…well, you know.

If you love escape-room games, you’ll love this murder mystery scavenger hunt. But even better, you won’t be locked in a room for an hour: this game can be played almost anywhere. 

An in-person murder mystery for any location!

We have a variety of versions, depending on where you want to play. Such as…

• A city, town, or neighborhood
• A science or history museum
• A zoo or aquarium
• An office building
• A school or campus

A murder mystery scavenger hunt perfect for team building

Here’s a game that will help you solve the mystery of how to entertain a diverse group of people while boosting morale and teamwork. It’s perfect for any private party or a corporate team-building outing of any size. Our clients who have enjoyed this game include T-Mobile, TD Bank, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Michigan in Washington, and others too numerous to mention.

What delighted clients are saying

“Everyone had a great time at the hunt! We are all still talking about it.” —an electrical engineer whose group played the game at the Houston Zoo

“A HUGE THANK YOU. Everyone had a BLAST and your hosts were FANTASTIC! Thank you so much for another great event!!” —an office coordinator in Los Angeles

“We had an amazing time and will be in touch for the next hunt we’d like to do in the near future! Tokia [the hunt host] was amazing, and we’d love to work with her again!!!” —an organizer for a group in Washington, DC

The hunt’s afoot! Contact us to learn more—and find more team-building fun anywhere!

Fun games with humorous twists!

If you’re looking for a good, old-fashioned scavenger hunt, we have one—with very unusual challenges that will exercise your brain and tickle your funny bone. Your tasks may involve strange uses for food, new lyrics for old songs, people in any kind of uniform, strangers wearing valuable words, secrets about local landmarks, and more. If you’ve been on scavenger hunts where you’ve had to collect boring things like clothespins and obscure CDs, you’re in for a surprise and a treat.

Teams fan out to tackle such challenges as…

Take unusual team photos

Get creative and keep your eyes open as you explore your area and try to meet the requirements of diverse “photo op” challenges. Everyone has to get into the picture (except the person holding the camera, of course). We’ve designed them to allow room for creativity while also delivering dramatic visuals (not just shots of people standing around, smiling and pointing). You might be asked to demonstrate a group member’s superhuman powers. Or treat a staircase as if it’s a carnival ride. Or photobomb another team.

Participants use their smartphone cameras and our browser-based app. You’ll get to see the other players’ pictures and download them afterward.

Find or create unusual items

As in a classic scavenger hunt, you’ll have to locate or create unusual items. But in our version, you might encounter these tricky tests: Can you create and name an amazing new food by combining two unlikely foods? How about an appropriate trophy for the hunt winners? Three items that rhyme? Something improved by being broken? You’ll be surprised by the results that come from great teamwork.

Crack a code to decipher a mystery message

Your hunt materials will include a bizarrely coded message. What the heck does it say? To crack the code, you’ll need to solve crafty, fun puzzles, involving a trivia questions, pop music, and a “pigpen cipher.” Can you piece together the key that unlocks the mystery message?

Locate the Hunt Host for a surprise bonus challenge

At a designated spot in the hunt area, the Host will be waiting for you, ready to spring a tricky, humorous visual puzzle for you to ponder. It could involve unusual celebrity pairings…or musical snippets…or international maps…or strangely altered art.

Go on a scavenger hunt anywhere, with versions and themes to suit your group

Go Deluxe: Let us tailor the hunt to your needs. Tell us what you want to highlight and we’ll weave it into the game. Perhaps someone you want to celebrate? A theme or slogan for a new campaign? Hidden talents in your group? Talk to us! We like a challenge.

Care to take a bite out of crime? Check out the Murder Mystery Mayhem Scavenger Hunt.

The hunts are available in International Editions, for hunters whose first language is not English. They are also available in Spanish, as well as in other select languages.

A Grab ’n’ Go Scavenger Hunt for Kids challenges youngsters and adults to work together to tackle challenges appropriate for ages 7 and up. It’s the perfect activity for birthday parties, bar/bat mitzvahs, family reunions, school field trips, summer-camp outings—you name it.

For a snack-tastic adventure, the Grab ’n’ Go Food Edition features food-themed Collect & Create and Photo Challenges.

And young Harry Potter fans will be cheating if they use their wands and other magical powers on the Wizards & Witches Scavenger Hunt, for ages 7 and up.

What happy clients are saying

“The Grab ’n’ Go Scavenger Hunt was so much fun! All of the teams were engaged and working together. We couldn’t have asked for a better team-building and celebration event.” –Brittney Gallardo, Office Manager/Executive Assistant, Texture by Next Issue Media

A 5-star review on Google: “We hired Watson Adventures to host the Grab ‘n’ Go scavenger hunt for a teambuilding event in our local downtown area. We chose to pay for an on-site host and it was well worth it. Kim, the host, was fantastic, well organized, very helpful with the game app, and added even more fun to the game with opportunities to earn extra points. Our team had a blast!! We thoroughly enjoyed getting out from in front of our computers to spend time together in this fun and creative environment!”

A 5-star review on Yelp: “I planned a surprise custom scavenger hunt for my fiancé’s birthday last year and it was so much fun! Tara was a pleasure to work with and incredibly accommodating with all of my requests. The event host was equally wonderful. We all had a blast. I wish I had more reasons to plan scavenger hunts!”

Contact us to learn more about the Grab ’n’ Go Scavenger Hunts—and find more fun wherever you are!

Turn your outdoor birthday party into an adventure!

Celebrate someone’s BIG DAY by bringing together friends and family on a fast-paced, fun outdoor birthday scavenger hunt. On teams, you’ll tackle a series of challenges that stretch your creativity, foster connections, and tickle the humerus (that’s the funny bone, right?).

Challenges that honor the Birthday Celebrant

• Take team photos, many of which pay tribute to the Birthday Celebrant—providing keepsakes to share after the game
• Find or create objects that test how well you know the Birthday Celebrant
• Answer trivia and decode a mystery message honoring the Birthday Celebrant
• Connect with our Hunt Host for a surprise bonus challenge

Our live Hunt Host keeps the game going and everyone laughing and sharing. Depending on your location and your preference, our Hunt Host can conduct the game in person, or can the Host can meet the teams on Zoom at the start and finish of the game, as text the teams during the game.

Players use our custom, browser-based app for all parts of the game.

Customize the outdoor birthday party to suit your celebrant

For an additional fee we can customize the game to the particular interests, enthusiasms, and even humorous dislikes of the Birthday Celebrant. We’ll send you questions about the celebrant and then incorporate them in creative ways into the challenges.

In addition to the version for adults, a Kids Edition is available for ages 12 and up.

What clients are saying about our outdoor birthday party scavenger hunt

“I planned a surprise customs scavenger hunt for my fiancé’s birthday last year, and it was so much fun! Watson Adventures was a pleasure to work with and incredibly accommodating with all of my requests. The event host was equally wonderful. We all had a blast. I wish I had more reasons to plan scavenger hunts!” —a reviewer on Yelp

“Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Saturday was a huge success. The kids had a blast and Eric, the host, was fun and in total control. I could not have come close to giving [our son] as awesome a birthday without your help. You’re the best party coordinators ever!” —a survey response from a parent

Contact us to learn more—and let us make your birthday celebration one of the most memorable you’ll ever enjoy!

Show Off Your Heroic Side

Calling all caped crusaders, mighty mutants, and strange visitors from other planets! Gather your super friends for an imaginative, empowered adventure. Whether you live in a mighty metropolis or a small town, team up for a super hero scavenger hunt—and take on challenges that bring out the superpowers and secret talents in everyone.

Your Super Teams Will Have To…

• Take Unusual Team Photos: Complete hero- and villain-themed photo prompts. Perfect your heroic poses, hold up tall buildings with a single hand, defeat your arch-enemies, and more.

• Collect & Create Interesting Items: As in a traditional scavenger hunt, this game tasks your league of extraordinary players with finding or cobbling together certain things. You might need your own super logo, an object you smashed with your super strength, or a key to the city!

• Decode a Mysterious Message: Is a bald professor recruiting you to join his fancy school? Is a galactic menace coming to devour the earth? You’ll never know unless you crack the code and reveal the message.

• Join the Hunt Host for a Surprise Challenge: Not even a supreme sorcerer or cosmically powered telepath can predict the fun puzzle in store for your avenging heroes.

Contact us to learn more about this awesome super hero scavenger hunt. Your super-powered adventure awaits!

Uh-oh! A killer lurks among you…

…and they’re about to interrupt an otherwise normal team-building outing to your favorite history museum. Someone in your group—possibly on your own team—is a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde, and they’re plotting to make you history.

Fortunately, this game gives you a fighting a chance to prevent your own murder. Everyone in your group has been secretly poisoned, and the clock is ticking down on your time left to live. To save yourselves and get the antidote, all you have to do is complete various fun challenges and reveal the killer’s identity.

The killer has hidden their identity in a scavenger hunt at the history museum. Your team will solve a series of interlocking puzzles, decipher coded messages, and meet the conditions of creative, collaborative photo prompts.

Along the way, your team might…

• Act your age with age-old artifacts.
• Put your patriotism on display for all to see.
• Interrogate sculptures and statues for clues.
• Gape in wonderment at outdated technology.
• Tackle a trivia quiz about famous murder mysteries.
• Identify murderous movies and snippets of killer songs.

If your group loves escape-room games, they’ll love this history museum scavenger hunt. The game will also help you entertain a diverse group of people while boosting morale and teamwork. It’s perfect for a private party or a corporate team-building outing of any size.

A Kids Edition is also available, in which kids age 7 and up work with adults. It’s a great activity for a school field trip, birthday party, and more.

Contact us to learn more about the Murder Mystery Mayhem Scavenger Hunts—and find more fun!

Beware: there’s a killer behind that panda…

Your perfectly delightful team-building outing to the zoo is about to be spoiled: someone in your group is plotting to feed you to the lions, or have you hugged by a cobra, or perhaps sat on by a hippo. Because this person—possibly on your own team—is a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde.

This person now challenges you to prevent your own murder. Everyone in your group was fed a deadly venom with your lunch, and the clock is ticking down on your time left to live. To save yourselves and get the antidote, all you have to do is reveal the killer’s identity.

Easy, right? Not so fast: the killer has hidden their identity in a series of puzzles that are part of a scavenger hunt at the zoo. Your team must solve a series of interlocking puzzles, decipher coded messages, and meet the conditions of tricky photo challenges around the zoo.

Along the way, your team might…

• Play monkey see, monkey do with a monkey.
• Blend in with an animal known for camouflage.
• Tackle a trivia quiz about famous murder mysteries.
• Identify snippets of songs that feature animals.
• Twist, and maybe shout, with snakes.

If your group loves escape-room games, they’ll love this zoo scavenger hunt. The game will also help you solve the mystery of how to entertain a diverse group of people while boosting morale and teamwork. It’s perfect for a private party or a corporate team-building outing of any size.

A Kids Edition is also available, in which kids age 7 and up work with adults. It’s a great activity for a school field trip, a birthday party, a family reunion, you name it.

What delighted clients are saying

“Everyone had a great time at the hunt! We are all still talking about it.” —an electrical engineer whose group played the game at the Houston Zoo

“A HUGE THANK YOU. Everyone had a BLAST and your hosts were FANTASTIC! Thank you so much for another great event!!” —an office coordinator in Los Angeles

“We had an amazing time and will be in touch for the next hunt we’d like to do in the near future! Tokia [the hunt host] was amazing, and we’d love to work with her again!!!” —an organizer for a group in Washington, DC

PLUS check out Watson Adventures on Google to see hundreds of 5-star reviews from delighted clients!

The hunt’s afoot! Contact us to learn more—and find more team-building fun at the zoo!

An adventure Harry Potter fans will love

Journey to an enchanted world without ever leaving your hometown, on a scavenger hunt that features a variety of challenges that might remind you of Harry and friends. On teams of six, kids search for objects that young witches and wizards would use at a school such as Hogwarts. They’ll also take Team Photos that let them demonstrate their magic skills or show off the effects of spells.

Though the challenges may call to mind aspects of the Harry Potter books and movies, no knowledge of them is required whatsoever. So if, say, you’re throwing a birthday party for the world’s biggest Potter fan, he or she will be thrilled, while friends who know little or nothing about the boy wizard will still have a blast.

This hunt is recommended for ages 7 and up. The minimum rate is $700 for up to 20 people.

Contact us to learn more about this scavenger hunt for kids who wish they could go to Hogwarts—and find more wizarding fun right in your hometown!

Explore Museums All over the Country—at Home!

Round up your teammates for an online adventure that challenges you to explore museum websites in search of the craziest, zaniest, secret-and-surprise-stuffed-fulliest (is that a word?) exhibits you’ve ever seen outside of your dreams. You’ll follow tricky clues on different museum websites and answer humorous question about what you uncover.

No knowledge of any particular museum is required: you just need sharp eyes, sharp wits, sharp teammates, and sharp pencils. Wait: sharp pencils not required, because you’ll be reading the clues and answering the questions in our spiffy app, bursting with links and hints and sound effects and other fun stuff.

Virtual scavenger hunt highlights include…

• Sue the T. rex at the Field Museum in Chicago
• A tour of the Texas State Aquarium with a sloth
• A bison stampede at the Milwaukee Public Museum
• The Space Shuttle Discovery at the Air & Space Museum
• Vintage arcade games at San Francisco’s Musée Méchanique

The game is suitable for ages 10 and up, and we recommend at least one adult per team. This virtual scavenger hunt is a great way to connect with family, friends or classmates. Contact to learn more about a private game for your group!