Collaboration in Scavenger Hunt Game on College Campus

Collaboration is a teamwork which involves working together to achieve a shared goal or task. It is achieved by sharing ideas and thinking to accomplish a common goal in an effective way. Collaboration is a technique, a tool, and an attribute. This definition of collaboration has been experienced by me in my professional life earlier but my recent experience of collaboration taught me many things which was organized in my college University College Dublin where our professor of “Management for information Professionals” organised an “Scavenger Hunt” event inside the college campus and with the help of volunteers she placed the clues across the university campus and we were handed over a sheet which consists of the puzzle to find out those clues. She randomly made a team of 6 people (which was the best part) as we got to know and interact with our classmates with whom we were not familiar earlier. They belong from different countries and follow different culture and by this activity we were able to share our thoughts and experience in a better way. Before explaining let me give an overview about the Game Scavenger Hunt.

It is a game, usually played outdoors, in which the players must collect various objects from a list of instructions they have been given and not necessarily in sequence. The one who organizes the scavenger hunt brings out a list of very specific and often quite unusual items. It could be anything from toys to miniatures or stone.

The winner of a scavenger hunt is usually either the first person or team who obtains all the items on the list or who obtains the most items from the list within a set period of time. For us the duration of the activity was almost one hour and there were 7 Teams in total and each was given a sheet which consists of puzzle and by solving each puzzle we had to reach that particular place and complete our task. Also, we were given a green bandana of the same color, so that we could easily recognize our team members in case if someone gets diverted. Also, few sessions of collaboration were given before the start of the activity. I was assigned in light Green team and with mutual understanding we selected different roles within the group. In our team we had 1 captain, 1 vice-captain, 1 photographer, 1 writer and 2 explorers. My role was of photographer and explorer but we were working as team and everyone was cooperating giving their best to win.

The game kicked off as soon as we got the sheets and from that time only we started planning how we have to move forward in the game. Also, there was a rule that all the team members have to work together all the time so everyone was cooperating in each task equally.

Once we have solved the puzzle, we have to reach to that place and take a group pictures and write down what inscriptions was given at the Specific spot and from there we got the clue for the next puzzle It was something like that we cannot move to next step once we have solve the previous puzzle.

Most of the clues were related to the sculpture trail on our campus and also there were some resources like animal toys near the lake, envelops inside the library shelves etc. These items were beautifully placed at those location and there were volunteers also at every spot to guide us furthers. Before the end of the scheduled time we were able to solve the entire puzzle and returned back to the class and gave all the answers we collected from different places to the professor.

Findings

With this activity we got to know our campus very well and we started giving attention to every small detail inside the campus which we were not observing even after passing by that sculpture or building. Through this we learned the importance of working in groups. While in group we tend to divide up the questions and tried to solve the puzzle in our way. We actually learned the meaning of collaboration while having a lot of fun.

The Scavenger hunt is a perfect example of team work which should be used in schools to help children understand the importance of working as a team from an early stage.

Advantages:

Building Problem-Solving Skills

Learning in collaboration has a lot of benefits, including increased memory of previously taught concepts. Participants of Scavenger hunts find a way to solve problem solving in a tangible way. It helps to reinforce and act-out methods they have been taught by parents or teachers in a physical way, leading to increased retention of the lessons learned.

Easy to Customize

Scavenger hunts is easy to customize a child’s abilities and interests. By finding the child’s interests we can easily organize a themed based “hunt” with related clues which will attract and interests them to participate and play. For Example: if they are interested in numbers then we can create games in which they have to solve numbers problems to get the clues. There is countless number of possibilities that we can organize a game but it is very difficult to organize one such Event as it involves a lot of planning and people to make it a success.

Exercise both body and mind

Success in activities like Scavenger hunts involves both physical and metal activity reinforcing the problem-solving skills. We can incorporate clues which can make people run from place to place like in our case where we had to explore different buildings, gardens, lakes to find the hidden clues. This is good for body exercise as well.

Teach Teamwork

Participation in scavenger hunt at school or at colleges helps understand everyone the value of teamwork. In addition to it promotes social interaction. If this type of activity is planned in schools, kids will learn from the early age the importance of working together to get the desired result. Learning to work in a team is an important skill thought a child’s life.

Conclusion

Scavenger hunts are an easy, adaptable, and fun way to interact with small children and those who want to understand the importance the team work and collaboration. It also helps them start making discoveries of their own. It doesn’t matter if you’re at shopping malls, spending time at the park, or driving in the car there are always things a child can be searching for. Not only can scavenger hunts be done just about anywhere, they also boost observation skills and help children develop early learning skills in a fun, relaxed, and natural way. As for parents involving their children in games like scavenger hunt make their child more aware of their surroundings and they will be able to make observation independently. The one of the thing that we learned from the scavenger hut is that with coloration even the most difficult task can e accomplished with the proper team work and everyone’s effort with determination.