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There are so many situations that are perfect for an indoor scavenger hunt for kids. This free 4-page printable scavenger hunt will keep children happily occupied when they’re stuck indoors.

I always loved playing scavenger hunt games as a child, but the ones I played were always outside games. Anyone who has or works with children know that there are many occasions when an indoor scavenger hunt is exactly what you (and the children) need.

• It’s too cold outside.
• It’s too hot outside.
• It’s raining.
• You don’t have time to be outside supervising the game.
• One or more of the children are unable to go outside.
• You’re just not in the mood to wrestle everyone into coats, shoes, hats, gloves and so on to go outside.
• Or-rrrr, an entirely unexpected virus causes the entire country to shut down and you’re safely at home 24-7 with your children.

How Do You Make a Scavenger Hunt?

1. Decide the location of your hunt.
2. Decide if the players will play individually or as teams.
3. Decide what type of scavenger hunt it will be and what items the players will be searching for.
4. Choose a scavenger hunt game board, like the ones for an indoor scavenger hunt below.
   1. Decide if the players have to find the exact item on the board or what parameters will be set for finding items.
5. Establish the rules.
   1. Boundaries of the search.
   2. Whether there’s a time limit for the search.
   3. Does the winner have to find all the items or just the most items.
6. Decide whether the winner will receive a prize or the prize of bragging rights.

Indoor Scavenger Hunt for Kids

Download the Indoor Scavenger Hunt PDF

Download the free printable Indoor Scavenger Hunt game boards. Save the pdf so that you can use it again and again.

Print the Indoor Scavenger Hunt Game Boards

Print copies of the game boards on your home printer or take the file to an office supply store to be printed.

You can print the scavenger hunt game boards on regular computer paper, but I prefer to use heavier card stock paper because it holds up better to the excitement of an indoor scavenger hunt for kids

I also recommend you consider laminating the game boards so that you can use them again and again. Trust me, the game will be such a hit that the children will want to play this indoor scavenger hunt many more times.

If you’re wondering whether you’d use a home laminating machine in your home, check out this post and see how I use it in my every day life.

How to Play an Indoor Scavenger Hunt

You can set the rules for the game any way you want. Some things to consider are:

• Set the boundaries of the game and where the children can go in the home or building.
• Establish if the children are playing as individuals or as teams.
• If you have children of different ages playing, consider pairing younger children with older children or an adult so that all the children can play.
• Establish if the players are required to find every item on the game board or if they are to find as many as they can in a set period of time.
• Look over the list of items on the scavenger hunt boards. If you don’t not have all of them, you can have the children play the Indoor Scavenger Hunt game like you play Bingo, which means finding all the items in a row or column.
• Even if you do have all the items, you can also choose to play the Indoor Scavenger Hunt like a Bingo game, with players finding items in a row or column.

More Scavenger Hunt Games

• First Day of School Scavenger Hunt
• Fall Scavenger Hunt
• Halloween Scavenger Hunt
• Thanksgiving Scavenger Hunt
• Nature Scavenger Hunt in the Summer

Be sure to pin this Indoor Scavenger Hunt for Kids printable so that you can always find it whenever you need to keep children occupied while inside.

Susan

I’m a mom of 3, a veteran and military spouse. I’ve moved into 20+ homes all around the world. My passion is helping busy people make the space and time for what’s really important to them.