Follow the clues to fun

With a bit of creativity and planning, clues around town can add up quickly to unique fun.
Whether hosting the party in your backyard or at a nearby park, a scavenger hunt party is sure to inspire young minds and young feet.
The possibilities are as endless as the imagination allows. Following clues provides partygoers with the thrill of the adventure -- while allowing them to experience their environment through new eyes.

Tailor your search party
The venues and themes are as limitless as your imagination and your children’s interests.
It may feel overwhelming to choose just one theme. A mental list of the sports equipment and hobby supplies overtaking your closets may threaten to tumble off your cerebral page. Add in favorite TV shows, recording artists, sports and superheroes to round out the list; if that doesn’t fill the page, surely memories of favorite parks and local spots will.
So how do you reconcile all of these ideas? Simple.
Pick your favorite park or hiking trail as a starting point for your party. Take a stroll around your locale observing the little things that make it special. The babbling brook in Maymont could sound like “music” to your ears. The Federal Reserve building could be just the place for Superman to leap n a single bound. Among the area’s cobblestones, your little history buff could find a whole host of favorites, from Jefferson’s statue to a fountain dating back to the Civil War.
Clues can be tailored to any age. Riddles challenge older children to use their noodles to decipher the clues, while children too young to read can follow picture clues.

Take the path less traveled
Much of the leg work in planning a scavenger hunt can be tackled without leaving your house. Photos and details about various museums, parks, hiking trails, and buildings are downloadable from the Internet with a few clicks of the mouse.
Your budget may determine how elaborate the props, but not the amount of fun. Clip art and photos from Web sites provide low-cost (or free) clues, keeping your finances in check.
Everyday items around the house can be incorporated into the clues. Museum brochures and maps can be cut and pasted or highlighted and labeled to suit your route. Other important resources available for the asking include grandparents and your guests’ parents, who can guide groups and serve as event photographers.
If planning your search inside a museum or a location with admission, be sure to ask about group rates in advance.

Dig up some booty
Little trinkets can extend your theme further. They can be placed along with clues, providing hints to the next stop on the hunt or placed at the end as the final treasure.
Oriental Trading Company (orientaltrading.com) and US Toy Company (www.ustoy.com) are great sources for trinkets in a variety of themes. One way to protect small trinkets from dew and dirt is to make use of plastic Easter eggs. Use a bright colored egg to make them stand out for small children. Keep the mystery a secret with camouflaging colors for older children. Combine both types to give little kids a leg up against older siblings.

Off the menu
If your heart is set on a scavenger hunt, but it seems to be a daunting task, there are other options. Ravenchase Richmond has worked out every detail for individual sleuths or families and groups looking for a scavenger hunt adventure. Visit Ravenchase.com for details and pricing of scheduled events and scavenger hunts in Richmond and other cities across the United States and in Europe.

At the rainbow’s end
Regardless of your theme, level of difficulty or budget, you’re sure to have as much fun planning your event as you do watching young scavenger hunters delighting in the thrill of discovering answers to each clue along the way.

Kimberli Russ Vida lives in Richmond with her three children and husband. In addition to writing about creative celebrations for kids, she writes about learning disabilities, ADHD, Asperger syndrome and other topics.