Helpful information
Timing: Autumn
Where to do it: Outdoors
Garden space: Large garden, small garden, no garden
An autumn treasure hunt is a brilliant excuse to get outdoors. Here we show you how to put one together, whether you're exploring the garden, park or local woods.
- A treasure hunt is a great way to get active as well as engaging all the senses
- Time outdoors has been shown to benefit our mental health and wellbeing
- This is a great activity to do with others. If there are any children joining in, this can help them engage with nature and notice the changing elements of the season
Autumn is the season of wonderful natural treasures. It offers up clusters of crisp, fallen colourful leaves, shiny conkers and the fresh mellowness of the autumnal air.
Spending time outdoors can calm us, re-charge us and connect us with nature. With so much to see, you could take the opportunity to organise a treasure hunt. You could do this with family, friends, or on your own. Where you choose to do the treasure hunt can be as varied as the season - in the garden, around the neighbourhood or during a walk in local woods are all options.
- Treasure hunt sheet (one per person / group)
- Pencils or pens
Optional items
- Clipboard
- Colouring pencils
A conker hanging from a tree
There are so many possibilities with an autumn treasure hunt. To make it more stimulating and encourage greater use of the senses, include some interactive activities.
Here are some ideas to get you started:
1. Plants and wildlife to spot
- Bird
- Red leaf
- Yellow leaf
- Orange leaf
- Brown leaf
- Twig
- Conker
- Tree
- Pine cone
- Spider web
- Squirrel
- Insect
- Wildflower
- Feather
2. Physical activities
You could add in some items requiring extra movement, for example:
- Stamping through the leaves
- Jumping over puddles
3. Creative and sensory activities
You could leave space on the treasure hunt sheet for creative works. For example:
- Draw a leaf
- Take a bark rubbing
- Write a short poem or sentence about what you are enjoying most in nature
Make sure to allow extra time during the treasure hunt for these. You could also incorporate some sensory elements beyond sight, such as:
- Name five things you can hear
- Find items with different textures - hard, soft, spiky, sticky (be cautious, though, about what you touch)
4. Challenge activities
If you are doing this as a group activity, you could set some challenge items. For example:
- Who can find the biggest leaf
- Who can find the longest feather
Thrive autumn treasure hunt download
Short on time? You can download and print our Thrive autumn treasure hunt.
A child throwing autumn leaves in the air
Once you have created your autumn treasure hunt, print or photocopy the different things to find and do.
When you head out on your autumn treasure hunt, give a copy to each person, or group if working together. You may find it useful to pop the sheet on a clipboard to make it easy to write on. Everyone will need a pencil. A supply of colouring pencils will be helpful for any creative elements.
If you would like to create a competition, you could have points for different sections. For example, one point for each item found. Five points for the winners of the challenge items. You could have little prizes for the winning team or individual.
As you go on your treasure hunt, enjoy talking about everything you are seeing, hearing and smelling around you. This is a really wonderful opportunity to engage with nature using all the senses.
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