NEW YORK SCAVENGER HUNTS

Ready for team-building with a dash of culture? On each of our scavenger hunts, you decipher clues to answer tricky, funny questions about the places you visit and things you find. Our hunts have been acclaimed by the New York Times, ABC News, Newsday, the Daily News, Time Out New York, the Washington Post, Citysearch, Daily Candy and numerous other media outlets (see the rave reviews). More than 1,000 prestigious companies have enjoyed our hunts, as well as trade associations, social groups, alumni groups, bachelorettes, schools and other groups. Looking for a hunt geared toward kids? Learn more on our Kids’ Hunts page or see the list of family hunts in New York.

For details on how the hunts work, and to see our rave reviews and prestigious clients, visit the Private Hunts page.

NEW YORK MUSEUM & OTHER INDOOR SCAVENGER HUNTS

American Museum of Natural History
Brooklyn Museum
The Cloisters
Ellis Island
Grand Central Terminal
Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum
The Jewish Museum
Madame Tussauds
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Museum of Modern Art
Museums of Lower Manhattan
The New-York Historical Society

NEW YORK OUTDOOR SCAVENGER HUNTS

Bronx Zoo
Brooklyn Heights
Central Park
Chelsea
Chinatown and Little Italy
Citywide “Conquer New York” Hunt
Columbia University & Morningside Heights
East Village
Greenwich Village
Lower East Side
Madison Square, Union Square & Gramercy Park
Meatpacking District & The High Line
Midtown Manhattan, including a special edition focusing on Grand Central Station
The Sex and the City Hunts
Starring Manhattan: Movie & TV Locations Hunts
Wall Street & Battery Park

LONG ISLAND SCAVENGER HUNTS

The Cradle of Aviation Museum, Old Bethpage Restoration and More

WESTCHESTER SCAVENGER HUNTS

Mount Kisco, Purchase, Somers, Tarrytown, Yonkers and Beyond

ALBANY SCAVENGER HUNTS

The New York State Museum and the Albany Institute of History and Art

SPECIAL EDITIONS

The Anywhere Hunt and the Grab-’n-’Go Classic Scavenger Hunt
Limousine Hunts
Bachelorette Hunts
Hunts for Kids and Family Occasions
Hunts for School Groups

More New York Area Hunt Options
Print Out Our Tri-State Area Brochure
Contact Us
Try a Public Hunt, See Our New York Newsletter


NEW YORK MUSEUM SCAVENGER HUNTS

American Museum of Natural History

The Museum of Natural Hysteria Scavenger Hunt & The Murder at the Museum of Natural History Scavenger Hunt

“You won’t want to miss this adult-oriented adventure.”—Time Out New York

Our hunts at the AMNH have also been recommended by the New York Times, Newsday and Daily Candy. You’ll go on an expedition across centuries, civilizations and solar systems on this surreal hunt in the American Museum of Natural History, covering dinosaurs to diamonds, dioramas to cosmic dust. Our popular, classic hunt is so surreal, you’ll think of the place as the Museum of Unnatural History. No knowledge of the museum or natural history is needed—in fact, it’s probably a hindrance. You’ll explore the dazzling planetarium, find out why a T. rex can’t stand up, attend an Amazonian beer bash, discover New York’s largest rodent (no, it’s not your landlord), see the crappiest gift a president ever gave the museum, and more. You’ll search for answers to such questions as...

• What two huge animals seem otterly indifferent to a small foe? Answer: Two Alaskan brown bears are unfazed by a snarling otter—can you spot him in this photo?

• Why does the Xipe Totec warrior make you think “fashion victim”? Answer: He’s wearing the skin of a sacrifice victim.

• Why would Siberian dolls horrify Daffy Duck? Answer: They’re made of duck bills.

Please note that we’ve left out directions and other clues that help you find these objects and answers.

Special Edition: The Murder at the Museum of Natural History Hunt
Someone, or some thing, has been bumping off museum staffers involved in acquiring a sacred Egyptian relic. Is it the dreaded Curse of Ahtchu? Or is a serial killer on the loose? Your team of sleuths will have to crack a hieroglyphic code and uncover the museum’s secrets to stop the killings.

Special Edition: The Naked and the Damned Scavenger Hunt
On this PG-13 hunt, you’ll see nature and humans in a way that would make PBS blanche, from eyebrow-raising tribal taboos to vicious battles of tooth and claw. Highlights include venomous liquor, a saucy “cigarette girl,” real shrunken heads, a headhunter’s ax, X-rated Aztecs and history’s largest dinosaur (it’s not the T-Rex).

The hunts are available in 90-minute and two-hour versions (except for the Murder at the Museum Hunt, which requires two hours) and can accommodate as many as 200 people. The museum also offers dramatic private rooms for pre- or post-hunt meals and parties. For more information about the Museum of Natural History, visit AMNH.org. Contact us for more information about the hunt.

Back to the top
  

The Brooklyn Museum: The Brooklyn Museum Blitz Scavenger Hunt

Discover New York City’s most underrated world-class museum. Five, count ’em, five floors of fun, with outstanding collections of art from Egypt, Africa and the Hudson River School, plus rooms and entire houses that let you step into 19th-century America. On our Brooklyn Museum Blitz, you’ll encounter the Elephant Man, Rodin, Niagara Falls, Rockefeller’s Moroccan parlor, a cat mummy, the Rocky Mountains, Lincoln, a Zambian cross-dresser and Noah’s Ark, to name just a few of the surprising sights. You’ll search for answers to such questions as...

• What’s the name of the life-size Egyptian wrap star? Answer: Thothirdes, a mummy.

• Why would a pregnant woman want to sleep with a tiger? Answer: A Chinese ceramic pillow has a tiger on it to ensure that a pregnant woman who sleeps on it gives birth to a male child.

• In a room where a turtle does deep knee-bends, what thing lets you wear a porpoise’s smile? Answer: A headdress, made with porpoise teeth.

How good is this hunt? The Brooklyn Museum itself has hired Watson Adventures to stage hunts for its members four times, including for two of its annual black-tie galas. We offer 90-minute and two-hour hunts at the museum, plus a kids version. For adults there’s also the special Naked Brooklyn edition featuring nudity in art (rated PG-13). Getting to the museum is a snap: By car or cab, it’s a straight shot from the Manhattan Bridge and the BQE, and there’s a parking lot behind the museum. By subway, the 2 and 3 trains stop directly in front of the museum’s doors. For more information about the Brooklyn Museum, visit brooklynmuseum.org. Contact us for more information about the hunt.

Back to the top
 

The Cloisters: The Cloisters Capers Scavenger Hunt

“You’ll get caught up in this history-driven scavenger hunt.”—Time Out New York

In upper Manhattan, the Metropolitan Museum of Art has assembled actual European medieval structures to create a stunning hilltop museum. It’s a spectacular setting for our Cloisters Capers Scavenger Hunt. You’ll be solving mysteries like a latter-day Brother Baskerville, the monk sleuth in The Name of the Rose. You will...

• Look for the high hand in a card game
• Search for the frog hiding near a famous unicorn
• Take a ladder to Heaven or fall into the mouth of Hell
• Learn why dead princes sleep with dogs
• Discover gruesome faces hidden in demons
• Relax in and marvel at garden retreats
• See breathtaking views of the Hudson River and the Palisades.

For more information about the Cloisters, visit the Met Web site. Contact us for more information about the hunt.

Back to the top
 

Ellis Island: The Immigrant Experience Scavenger Hunt

Explore the large, byzantine facility in New York Harbor that was the first experience of America for millions of immigrants—perhaps even your own ancestors. You’ll uncover many secrets about the immigrant experience in this majestic, moving place, while enjoying jaw-dropping views of the harbor, the Statue of Liberty and the Manhattan skyline. Pepsi’s employees had a blast when they did this hunt. But it comes with a warning: The island is accessible only by ferry, and the ferry company does not give preferential treatment to groups and does not guarantee that you will be able to depart at a particular time. You may encounter long lines to board the ferry during tourist season. For more information about the island and its museum, visit EllisIsland.org. If this sounds like your kind of adventure, contact us to learn more.

Back to the top


Grand Central Terminal: The Secrets of Grand Central Scavenger Hunt, The Midtown Murder Mystery Scavenger Hunt and The Munch Around Grand Central Scavenger Hunt

We offer three hunts that are entirely indoors at Grand Central Terminal and some of its famous neighbors:

The Secrets of Grand Central Scavenger Hunt: Discover the history, cool places and surprising sights in the terminal. Highlights include mysterious markings in the constellation ceiling, times for “ghost” trains in the former arrivals room, the last survivor of the Biltmore Hotel, the gourmet extravaganza of the Grand Central Market, the architectural wonder of the Whispering Gallery, the Transit Museum Annex, the dazzling Art Deco lobby of the Chrysler Building, surprising historic photos in the Graybar Building, the bustling food court, hidden art and more. You’ll take on such questions as...

• Follow a ramp down to the doors of a place where mollusks get drunk. In front of the doors is the Whispering Gallery: If you talk facing any corner, someone at the opposite corner can hear you. But if you try this, people will think you’re nuts. What kind of nuts, judging from the kind closest to you? (They’re a symbol of the Vanderbilts, who owned the railroad when the terminal was built.) Answer: Acorns, in a decoration outside the Oyster Bar.

• On Lexington Avenue, one set of doors has a canopy with a scene from the docks in days of yore. How many invaders try to board the “ship” by climbing the mooring ropes? Answer: Three rats climb the “mooring lines” that hold up a canopy over the entrance to the Graybar Building.

Please note that in the sample questions above we haven’t given you all of the clues here you’d use to find these answers. No previous knowledge of Grand Central is necessary to succeed—you just need sharp minds and comfortable shoes.

The Midtown Murder Mystery Scavenger Hunt: A Watson Adventures staffer has been murdered, and we need your help to catch his killer. Before he died, he wrote the word STAR on the ground with his blood. What does this mean? It turns out that he lived a dangerous double life. Can you piece together the puzzle he left behind in time to head off an international incident with catastrophic consequences? Along the way, you'll also uncover the secrets of Grand Central, where many a surprising detail turns out to be part of a code. The fate of the free world may depend on your teamwork.

The Munch Around Grand Central Hunt: This tour of the historic station is coupled with tastings of its many treats, featuring the gourmet surprises of Grand Central Market and the lower-level food court (one of the city’s best-kept secrets), with a look at such classic eateries as the Oyster Bar and the Campbell Apartment.

The Grand Central scavenger hunts are available in two-hour and 90-minute editions, plus a one-hour nighttime edition is available after 8 p.m. See Midtown Locations for more midtown options. Or you can contact us to learn more.

Back to the top


The Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum: The All Hands on Deck Scavenger Hunt

Get a salty taste of adventure on the seven seas without leaving New York on a unique scavenger hunt aboard the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum. From the “vulture’s row” above to the mess hall below decks, you’ll clamber through passageways, peer into cockpits and spy other sights most people get to see only by enlisting. You’ll search for answers to tricky and humorous questions while seeing film footage of the Intrepid in action, witnessing a kamikaze experience, focusing on the fo’c’s’le, espying the coolest spy plane, cracking a code in the Combat Information Center, and much more.

Back to the top


The Jewish Museum: The Jewish Jubilee Scavenger Hunt

This Upper East Side museum boasts two floors of exhibits that trace Jewish history and heritage, ranging from ancient Jerusalem to contemporary artists. Another two floors of changing exhibitions often focus on aspects of Jewish culture in modern times. You don’t have to be Jewish to have fun and even win on this hunt—but it couldn’t hurt.

Along the way, you’ll search for answers to questions about an Executive Dreidel, a substance that is kryptonite to impurities, the Jewish Michelangelo, a wedding present that led to circumcisions, the pharmacy that first sold Coke, a synagogue that Leonard Nimoy might attend, and what, according to Mel Brooks’ 2,000-Year-Old Man, was the chief means of transportation in ancient times. (The answer to that last one? “Fear,” says Brooks in a video clip.)

We’ve staged a one-hour hunt here for a group of more than 100 people. Depending on what the current exhibitions are, we can stage a hunt of up to 90 minutes at this venue. For more information about the museum, visit TheJewishMuseum.org. To learn more about the hunt, contact us.

Back to the top


Madame Tussauds: The Wax Attacks Scavenger Hunt

Never has waxy buildup been so much fun! Watson Adventures now offers private hunts at the wild, surreal and fun museum of celebrities through history, Madame Tussauds, on 42nd Street. Party with Donald Trump, pose for a photo op with President Bush, play with the Beatles and snap shots of your team with dozens of other celebs. You’ll mingle with actors and musicians at a Hollywood party, meet presidents, artists and other historic greats in a hall of fame, and time-travel from the Roaring ’20s to the present as you pass such figures as Marilyn Monroe, Elvis, Billie Jean King, Prince, even Bill Gates. You’ll search for the answers to such questions as...

• One was a bombshell, the other a bomber. They’re together now, standing back to back forever, but what was their relationship before they were wax? Answer: Bronx Bomber Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe were husband and wife.

• Who comes between the Godfather of Soul and the queen of Seoul? Answer: Tina Turner stands between James Brown and FloJo.

And, if you opt to include cameras (which we strongly recommend), you’ll also tackle such fun Team Photo Challenges as...

• Take a team photo forming a conga line or doing another dance with a celebrity.

• Take a team photo arguing with a world leader.

The house of wax stays open late and has facilities for parties, so it’s a great option for inclement weather and evenings. This hunt lasts 90 minutes, not including setup and post-hunt scoring time. Contact us to learn more about the hunt.

Back to the top


The Metropolitan Museum of Art: The Met Madness Scavenger Hunt, The Murder at the Met Hunt & The Naked at the Met Scavenger Hunt

“One of the most entertaining and anarchic ways to take in [the Met’s] treasures.”—New York magazine

The Met Madness Hunt: This is our original and most popular hunt, first staged in 1993. You’ll go on a whirlwind tour of almost the entire museum, traveling from Egypt to Rome, from India to China, from Colonial America to regal Paris. But no knowledge of art is required—in fact, it’s probably a hindrance! You’ll go to the dogs in a panoramic view of the Gardens of Versailles, discover why Cupid could use some Pampers, decipher graffiti on an ancient Egyptian temple, watch a mummy unwind, find out what’s on the back of Van Gogh’s mind, learn why Freud’s subject has Venus envy, and much more. You’ll use your wits and teamwork to answer such questions as...

• What wise guy can’t get his wife off of his back? Answer: Aristotle, who appears on all fours with his wife on his back, as an elegant aquamanile (water container).

• Whose rude gesture will make you exclaim, “I never sausage behavior!”? Answer: Hans Wurst, a character in Frans Hals’ Merrymakers at Shrovetide, who has a sausage pinned to his hat.

• Pardon the expression, but go to Hell. How many crowned kings writhe in torment there? Two, seen in a Last Judgment that could curl Stephen King’s hair. (Use the zoom on the Met site to see if you can spot the offending royals.)

The Met Madness Hunt is available in 90-minute and two-hour editions. You can also choose from several special editions:

The Naked at the Met Hunt: Take an eyebrow-raising look at nudity in art (rated PG-13). You’ll scrutinize paintings, sculptures, period rooms, sultry sirens, a literally bronzed Adonis, a medieval codpiece, an incontinent Cupid, randy revelers and more. No previous experience with art, or nudity, is required.

The Murder at the Met Hunt: Bring your best sleuthing skills to solve a mystery. A murdered curator has left behind a cryptic trail of clues connected with secrets in works of art. As your team gathers answers about the art, you begin to piece together a sordid tale about greed, lust, pride, revenge and treachery, all revolving around the museum’s planned multimillion-dollar purchase of a Rembrandt. The murder victim knew too much—and now it’s your turn to learn what he knew and discover what drove one of four suspects to commit murder. To find out, you’ll have to crack a secret code left in the victim’s appointment calendar. Can you figure out who dunnit? Be prepared for our most challenging hunt.

The Met Madness Relaxed Hunt: This edition presents our classic Met hunt at a gentler pace, for those who want more time to see the art. It’s also a great option for older and mixed-age groups.

The International Edition Met Madness Hunt: We take our popular questions and make the language a little easier for hunters for whom English is a second language. You’ll still get all of the benefits of our Met hunts.

For special hunts designed for kids and adults to do together—including The Wizard School Scavenger Hunt for Harry Potter fans—see our Kids Hunt Locations.

For more information about the Met, visit to MetMuseum.org. Contact us to learn more about the hunts.