Childhood treasure hunt
Follow the clues, solve the puzzles and see where your childhood adventure takes you.
Create a treasure hunt inspired by childhood games, stories, toys or familiar local places. Keep it simple with a few clues around your home, school or community venue, or create a bigger trail for teams to explore.
How the activity works
Choose your route or playing area and create a series of clues that lead people from one location to the next.
Your clues could be based on:
- Favourite childhood stories
- Toys and games
- Nursery rhymes
- Playground games
- Riddles and puzzles
- Local landmarks
- Picture clues
- Hidden objects
People can take part individually, in families or in teams.
Ask for a donation to enter, encourage teams to raise sponsorship beforehand or set a shared fundraising target for the event.
Plan your activity
- Choose where your treasure hunt will take place.
- Decide where it will start and finish.
- Create your clues, puzzles and hiding places.
- Walk through the route yourself to make sure everything works.
- Decide how people will take part and how you will raise money.
- Invite people to join in and explain what they need to do.
- Set teams off and see who can complete the hunt.
How to raise money
Choose one simple fundraising idea or combine a few approaches to suit your group, activity and available time.
There is no required fundraising target. Choose an amount that feels realistic for the size of your group and focus on making it easy and enjoyable for people to get involved.
You could:
- Ask everyone taking part for a suggested donation
- Charge a small entry fee
- Ask people to sponsor participants
- Invite donations for additional attempts
- Charge teams to enter a tournament
- Ask people to donate to vote for the winner
- Combine the challenge with refreshments, a raffle or bake sale
- Set up an online fundraising page
Helpful things to think about
Adapt it for your group
Schools and colleges
Run the treasure hunt around a classroom, hall, playground or other suitable part of the school.
Younger pupils might enjoy picture clues, simple riddles or finding hidden objects. Older students could take on more challenging puzzles, coded messages or team-based clues.
You could organise the activity by class, house or tutor group and add points for completing each stage.
Taking part should remain optional. Pupils who do not want to complete the hunt can still help create clues, keep score or support their team.
Community groups
Use your usual meeting place, community venue or a safe local area as the setting for your treasure hunt.
You could ask group members to help create clues, hide objects or run different checkpoints.
For groups with a wide age range, mix easier and harder clues so everyone has a chance to contribute.
Families and individuals
Create a treasure hunt at home, in the garden or in a familiar local space.
Keep it simple for younger children with picture clues and hidden objects, or make it more challenging for older children and adults with riddles and puzzles.
You could invite another family to compete, work together as one team or ask people to donate to take part.
What you will need
- A set of clues or puzzles
- Pens and answer sheets if needed
- Any props or hidden objects
- A safe route or playing area
- Signs or markers if you are using checkpoints
- Optional prizes or certificates
- A way to collect donations
You do not need a complicated route. A short, well-planned treasure hunt can be just as much fun as a larger one.
Make it safe and inclusive
Choose a route that is safe, accessible and suitable for the people taking part.
Avoid sending participants near busy roads, isolated areas, water, steep ground or anywhere they would need to climb or enter without permission.
Make sure clues can be reached without relying on speed, mobility or physical ability. You can adapt the route, provide seated clues or let teams work together so more people can take part.
If the hunt is outdoors, think about weather conditions and have a backup plan if needed.
If children or young people are involved, make sure appropriate supervision is in place and follow your organisation's usual safeguarding arrangements.
Do not hide clues in places that could damage property or cause people to enter restricted areas.
The aim is to make the hunt adventurous and playful, while keeping it easy and safe for everyone to enjoy.
Looking for another idea?
Explore more playful fundraising ideas in the Be a Kid Week Play Hub.
Why your fundraising matters
Be a Kid Week is part of the Acorns Time Machine appeal .
The money you raise will help power the specialist care Acorns provides to children with short lives and their families. By managing pain, symptoms and medication and providing expert care whenever it is needed, Acorns helps families make more of the time they have together.
Your activity will help give seriously-ill children more time to simply be kids.
Ready to help childhood take over?
Sign up to Be a Kid Week and download your free fundraising pack, full of ideas and practical guidance to help you get started.
