With thousands of historic landmarks, attractions, and cultural hotspots, NYC has something for everyone to enjoy.
If you plan to visit NYC, why not go all out and explore it with a scavenger hunt? It’s a fun, interactive way to explore the city, solve some clues, and bond with friends and colleagues along the way!
This article lists some interesting scavenger hunt ideas to try on your next adventure.
Benefits of Scavenger Hunts
Here’s why you should include a scavenger hunt in your next event;
- Encourages teamwork and collaboration: Scavenger hunts are often played in teams, encouraging participants to work together to solve clues and finish challenges. This fosters strong teamwork, trust, and relationship building among participants.
- Boosts problem-solving skills: Scavenger hunts are more than just collecting items. Organizers often include riddles, puzzles, and clues to stimulate critical thinking and creativity.
- Promotes physical activity: Scavenger hunts often involve walking, running, or exploring various locations. And since most hunts are timed, participants rush to complete these challenges giving them an excuse to run from point A to point B.
- Provides educational value: Hunts can be themed around history, culture, or science, allowing participants to learn new facts or explore new places in an interactive and memorable way.
- Encourages exploration: one of the main appeals of scavenger hunts is that players get to uncover hidden spots, local landmarks, or unusual details they might otherwise overlook.
Scavenger Hunt Ideas NYC
If you live or plan to visit NYC soon, here are some scavenger hunt ideas to make the most out of your trip:
1. Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, also known as The Met, is the largest art museum in the United States and the third-largest museum in the world, after the Louvre Museum in Paris and the State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg.
It houses over two million works of art, with some as old as 5,000 years. Among its most notable art pieces are Van Gogh’s Wheat Field with Cypresses, Monet’s Water Lilies, and Jacques-Louis David’s The Death of Socrates.
You’ll also encounter numerous ancient Egyptian artifacts, including the Temple of Dendur, and various weapons and armors from Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.
The Met has a square footage of approximately 2 million and encompasses five floors. It takes at least four or five hours to see the main highlights, and art and history enthusiasts can spend multiple days exploring the museum’s halls. That makes The Met a prime location for scavenger hunts; there are just so many things to do and see!
Here are some scavenger hunt ideas for The Met:
- Find a painting or sculpture that matches a short description or clue. For example, “Find a portrait where the subject is lying down,” or “Spot a painting with a bowl of fruit in the background.”
- Locate an artifact, painting, or sculpture that’s over 2,000 years old.
- Take a picture of the smallest item you can find.
- Take a picture of the most unusual item you can find.
- Snap a photo of your team mimicking a pose, expression, or scene from a painting or sculpture.
2. The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is about a 20-minute drive from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, located in Midtown Manhattan on 53rd Street. It’s home to the world’s greatest collection of contemporary and modern art, featuring over 200,000 works spanning the last 150 years.
The MoMA isn’t quite as large as The Met, but it’ll still take hours to explore. It has a total of six floors, with each floor following a theme. It showcases iconic works of Van Gogh, Picasso, Pollock, and Warhol, as well as emerging artists from the 21st century.
Scavenger hunt ideas can include:
- Sketch your favorite painting or sculpture, and list a fun fact about it.
- Search for paintings that are mostly green, red, blue, etc.
- Locate an unusual item and guess its inspiration.
- Pick an artwork that makes you feel a specific emotion (happiness, sadness, hope), and explain why it made you feel that way.
- Locate a famous painting by a well-known artist (Picasso, Monet, Van Gogh, Salvador Dali, etc.).
- Find the most recent art installation in the museum.
Admission to the Museum of Modern Art costs around $30, excluding special exhibitions. NYC residents can access the museum for free every Friday from 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm.
3. Atlas Statue
The Atlas Statue is a five-minute walk away from the Museum of Modern Art, so make sure to pass by when you have the chance! You’ll find it in front of the Rockefeller Center, across 5th Avenue from St. Patrick’s Cathedral. You won’t miss it—it’s a massive, 45-foot statue of the Greek God Atlas carrying the celestial sphere on his shoulders.
For a scavenger hunt, ask team members to take a group photo of themselves mimicking the pose of Atlas. You could also think of a riddle that directly leads to Atlas. For example: “I am he who holds the world over my shoulders with effortless strength, a titan who never lets go. Who am I?”
4. Radio City Music Hall
After spending time at the Atlas Statue, visit the Radio City Music Hall just five minutes away at 1260 6th Avenue.
Also known as “The Showplace of the Nation,” the Radio City Music Hall is the largest indoor theater in the world. It’s often where major events are hosted, like the MTV Video Music Awards, Daytime Emmy Awards, and Tony Awards. It has also welcomed some of the most well-known music artists of the 21st century, such as Lady Gaga, Harry Styles, and Madonna.
Radio City Music Hall hosts performances nearly every day, ranging from concerts and stand-up comedy to special events and movie premieres. You can find a full list of upcoming events on the official Radio City Music Hall website.
Instead of choosing an event at random, ask your team members what they’re most excited to see and pick an event that everyone will enjoy.
While there, ask team members to spot details like the grand Art Deco lobby, the Rockettes’ stage area, and the marquee, before the show begins.
5. Central Park Zoo
Zoo scavenger hunts are always a hit because they’re full of surprises! You get to see amazing animals up close and explore different exhibits while completing silly or creative challenges along the way.
And there’s no better place to do a zoo scavenger hunt than the famous Central Park Zoo. It’s home to over 1,400 animals across 160 species, with some considered rare and endangered, like the scaly-sided mergansers, snow monkeys, and Royal Bengal tigers.
Here are some zoo scavenger hunt ideas to consider:
- Race to solve riddles that lead to specific animals.
- Find animals featuring specific patterns or colors (e.g., red markings, blue wings, white spots, etc.).
- Find animals making funny expressions and recreate them in a photo.
- Spot the smallest and largest animals in the zoo.
- Spot the heaviest animal in the zoo.
- Take a picture of foodprints, tests, or other signs of animal activity.
- Take a group photo imitating your favorite animal’s pose or movement.
- Locate a zookeeper and ask them to give you weird or lesser-known facts about the animals they’re taking care of.
- Locate animals that match your name (some animals don’t have their names listed on the plaque, so participants may need to ask zookeepers for the animals’ names).
Tickets cost around $23 per person, but the zoo has offers for social and corporate outings with tickets costing as low as $15 per person.
6. Washington Square Park
Washington Square Park is a popular spot for people-watching, skateboarding, and enjoying live music.
You can take your team to the park for a picnic and spend the day playing “I Spy” or Alphabet Scavenger Hunt, where players find something nearby that starts with a specific letter.
You can also lead players to statues, monuments, and fountains, or ask them to take a picture in front of the iconic Washington Square Arch.
7. Madame Tussauds
Sitting at 234 West 42nd Street between 7th and 8th Avenue is Madame Tussauds, a wax museum featuring over 150 lifelike celebrity figures.
Tickets are fairly expensive at $45 to $50 per person, not including interactive experiences like Clown Chaos 7D, Marvel Universe 4D, or creating a wax hand. However, it’s still worth experiencing even if for the photo opportunities alone!
Scavenger hunt ideas can include:
- Take a photo of specific famous people (Leonardo DiCaprio, Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, etc.).
- Mimic the pose of a celebrity figure.
- Locate characters from famous movies and name the actor/actress who plays them.
- Find musicians from different genres.
- “Lyric hunt,” where participants locate musicians using a line from a song.
8. Grand Central Terminal
The Grand Central Terminal at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan is another prime location for a scavenger hunt because it’s full of fascinating secrets!
You have the abandoned track known as Track 61, which was used by celebs and presidents to discreetly travel from one place to another; the M42 Powers Converters room, a secret basement room that doesn’t appear in any terminal blueprint or map; and the mysterious Whispering Gallery, an arched entryway that lets two people communicate from one corner.
There’s also the Backwards Constellations in the Main Concourse—why was it painted backwards? Was it an accident, or was the painter trying to tell us something?
For a scavenger hunt, ask participants to solve clues and uncover the mysteries of the Grand Central Terminal. History.com has shared some of its hidden secrets, so you can use it as a guide.
9. New York Botanical Garden
The New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) is home to over 1 million plants representing 12,000 species. It’s the largest botanical garden in the United States, spanning 250 acres.
Inside, the NYBG features themed gardens, Victorian-style glasshouses, and over 40 acres of woodland and rock gardens. It also hosts events like the Van Gogh Starry Nights experience, live music shows, and nature-themed art exhibitions.
For a scavenger hunt, consider these ideas:
- Find flowers, leaves, or plants in specific colors.
- Look for plants with unique shapes (heart-shaped leaves, spirals, stars, etc.).
- Find the tallest, oldest, or smallest full-grown tree.
- Snap a photo of birds, butterflies, bees, or other wildlife in the gardens.
- Find three plants or flowers with a strong scent. Describe the scent in as much detail as you can.
- Stretch your favorite flower and explain why you consider it your favorite.
- Find a plant with a strange texture.
Tickets to the New York Botanical Garden cost around $30 for non-NYC residents and $15 for NYC residents. NYC residents also get to enjoy free all-day access on Wednesdays, while non-residents can visit for free from 10 am to 11 am.
10. Central Park
No NYC trip is complete without a visit to Central Park!
The 843-acre park hosts activities all year-round, including bike riding, yoga, horse and carriage tours, live performances, and fitness classes.
It also features dozens of well-known monuments like the Bethesda Fountain and Terrace, the Alexander Hamilton statue, and the Simon Bolivar Monument. If you’re visiting during the winter, you can ice skate at Wollman Rink or sled down Cedar Hill.
Scavenger hunt ideas can include locating specific monuments using the clues provided, counting the steps at Belvedere Castle, or taking a picture of a bird or squirrel. You can also task team members to take a picture with a performer, or purchase a snack they’ve never tried before from one of the many food stands available.
11. New York Public Library
The New York Public Library is the second-largest public library in the United States, with nearly 53 million books and resources within its walls.
What makes it interesting is that the library regularly hosts exhibitions showcasing rare manuscripts, maps, photographs, and historic documents—items you can rarely find photos and information about online.
The library also hosts workshops, lectures, and book signings. You can find a full list of upcoming events on the museum’s official website.
For a scavenger hunt, here are some ideas:
- Take a photo of decorative carvings, inscriptions, or statues inside the building
- Look for books of specific colors or designs
- Locate a book with an old publication date
- Find a book with a beautiful cover, and explain why it caught your eye
- Find a book with unique characteristics, such as words written upside down, pop-up books, or books with strange fonts.
12. Chelsea Market
The Chelsea Market is a food and retail marketplace located at 75 9th Avenue between 15th and 16th Street. It offers a diverse array of specialty shops, eateries, and artisanal vendors, making it the go-to shopping center for items that are hard to come by.
Here’s what you can do for a scavenger hunt:
- Take a photo of the most visually striking dessert or food item.
- Find and sample three different types of cuisine, rating them from 1 to 5.
- Find Chelsea Market’s iconic features, like the giant clock, neon signs, and the original factory architecture.
- Spot fruits/vegetables or ingredients that you’ve never heard of before.
- Try a dish you’ve never had before, and describe the taste in great detail.
Scavenger Hunts with cityHUNT
NYC is a massive city, with thousands of attractions, landmarks, and cultural hotspots to discover. Instead of stressing yourself out trying to plan a fun scavenger hunt, let the experts curate one for you!
With over 25 years of experience under our belt, we’re confident in creating immersive, interactive adventures that guide you through the city, challenge your team, and uncover hidden gems you might otherwise miss.
Contact us today and let us create the perfect scavenger hunt for your team!
