A year in adventures
As a true rollercoaster of a year races back into the station, one can’t help thinking back to the highs and lows of 2016. But here at Watson Adventures, we’re overjoyed about another amazing year of putting on exciting team building scavenger hunts—thanks to you, our dedicated hunters.
In the past 12 months, we’ve written new hunts, explored new hunt locations, partnered with some great institutions, and had a blast meeting our corporate and private clients’ requests, from custom questions to surprise wedding-proposal shenanigans. Here are just a few highlights from 2016. (And—spoiler alert! hackneyed phrase alert!—come back next week for the best team photos of 2016.)
New Scavenger Hunts
We’re always at work keeping our hundreds of scavenger hunts up-to-date, but few things are as fun as writing totally new hunts, whether they’re tied to a new movie or something totally different. This year’s new hunts include:
- Unlock the Box, an original puzzle game at Grand Central Terminal that is unlike any other event we’ve ever done
- Magical Creatures Scavenger Hunt, at New York’s American Museum of Natural History, inspired by the new film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
- Sugar Rush Game, a trivia challenge and scavenger hunt at the famous Dylan’s Candy Bar in New York and Chicago
- Hunt for the Throne Scavenger Hunt, a hunt at the Metropolitan Museum of Art inspired by Game of Thrones
New Hunt Locations
From museums to literal castles, we’re always on the lookout for great new scavenger hunt locations all around the country. Here are a few of the new places you’ve enjoyed team building scavenger hunts this year:
- Boldt Castle, on Heart Island in New York State
- Chicago’s Brookfield Zoo and the Magnificent Mile
- Pacific Science Center in Seattle
- Milwaukee Art Museum and Downtown Milwaukee
- Peterson Automotive Museum in Los Angeles
- San Diego’s Museum of Art and Balboa Park
Promotional Scavenger Hunts
Our favorite corporate team-up this year was definitely the Summer of Hamilton. The New-Historical Society invited us to tailor a special scavenger hunt to their summer-long exhibits on Alexander Hamilton. Featuring the infamous Reynolds Pamphlet, a death mask of Aaron Burr, even a full-size statue depicting that fateful duel, the free scavenger hunt delighted hundreds of guests over several days. And needless to say, it left the client satisfied—so satisfied that we have a new scavenger hunt coming in spring 2017!
The Year in Numbers
- Nearly 1,900 scavenger hunts this year—hunts for the general public in eight cities, team building scavenger hunts for corporate groups in many more cities, private scavenger hunts for school groups, birthday parties, you name it—the most we have ever done in one year, and we’re still going!
- 186 repeat clients—welcome back, hunters!
- 301 hunters on our biggest hunt of the year, with Novo Nordisk at the Liberty Science Center in New Jersey
- 174 children on our biggest family hunt, with Madison Junior School at Ellis Island—only just reopened after extensive repairs in the wake of Superstorm Sandy
- 5 hunts in 5 places: the most hunts by one client, Preston High School, in multiple locations
- 376 Cooper Middle School students, hunting at four different Smithsonian museums, in our biggest kids day of the year
- 2: the number of hunters, a couple on their anniversary, in our smallest hunt of the year. Now that’s love!
Find More Fun
To ask us about arranging a corporate team building scavenger hunt almost anywhere, contact us online or at 877-946-4868, extension 111. Scavenger hunts for private groups—for birthday parties, for school field trips, for university events, for alumni group outings and more—are also available in numerous states. Visit the Public Scavenger Hunt schedule to find an upcoming scavenger hunt in cities around the country.
Check out the rest of the blog for fun stuff (like six great moments in gift-giving and nine amazing museum gift-shop gifts) and useful tips for planning private and corporate events.