Scavenger Hunts at The New York Historical

Time-travel to New York City’s past…

…by going on this whirlwind tour of the New York Historical (formerly the New-York Historical Society). It’s like the city’s attic of treasures. Your team will follow a trail of clues through the beautifully remodeled Luce Center, the Center for Women’s History, and an array of ever-changing special exhibits, as you search for answers to tricky, humorous questions about the cool things you discover.

The New York Historical has asked us to stage this game for the general public more than a dozen times since 2017. We always get a great turnout and an enthusiastic response.

But maybe you have a corporate group that needs a fun, stimulating, brain-scratching, team bonding activity right now. Good news: You can book this scavenger hunt for private groups almost anytime!

On the scavenger hunt you might search for such items as…

• Tremendous timepieces with timeless appeal
• An authentic replica of the Oval Office
• Antique windup toys and trains
• An instigating object in the Civil War Draft Riots
• A panic on Wall Street between bulls and bears

No knowledge of the museum or New York history is needed: you just need sharp eyes and comfy shoes.

Special edition for kids and school groups

A Kids Edition for kids and adults to play together is also available for ages 7 and up. It’s a great way to introduce children to New York history and to the museum while having fun. If you’re bringing a school group to the museum for a field trip, the History Mysteries Scavenger Hunt for Kids helps teachers introduce students to the entire museum while entertaining the chaperones as well.

Get in the game!

Contact us to learn more about our New York history museum scavenger hunts—and find more fun in NYC!

Solve puzzles—and save yourself!

You’ve been poisoned at the start of this scavenger hunt (er, sorry), and it’s up to you to find the cure. How? By solving a series of puzzles created by a diabolical villain. He wants to see if you can ultimately decipher a mystery message that will reveal how to get the antidote. Sure, you can escape a room, but can you escape the galleries of the New York Historical? (Yup, that’s the name: it used to be known as the New-York Historical Society.)

You and your teammates will have trouble deciding what is more surprising: the twists and turns of this museum scavenger hunt, or the amazing collection of art and artifacts at the NYH. Four floors of exhibits pack in all kinds of treasures and secrets for you to unearth.

Highlights include…

• A word puzzle featuring a kaleidoscopic gallery of Tiffany lamps
• A perplexing message involving lustrous trophies
• A ridiculous rebus that leads to NYC’s most notorious political boss
• A quirky equation that exposes a famous Revolution-era riot and a chunk of metal that resulted from the mob’s violence

Along the way, your team will also be challenged to master a bonus challenge with the Hunt Host and crack a cryptic code.

No knowledge of New York history or the museum is required: you just need sharp eyes, comfy shoes, and excellent teamwork.

Contact us to learn more about private games for groups at the New York Historical—and find more fun in NYC!

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 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!