Everybody Loves a Treasure Hunt

On the Road Again

Well, it's been that kind of summer, Ultimate Treasure Hunts and Can You Find It out on the road.  It started with that trip to Maine back a couple months ago when they (up "north") still had snow on the ground even though we (down "south") were well into spring and quickly approaching summer. The Northern Outdoors' permanently installed orienteering course is coming along nicely and will be presented to them (another road trip!!!) soon. Then it was down to Miami, Florida for a great GPS Navigation game for the sales team of a major publishing company.   POIs (points of interest) included the Roy Lichtenstein Mermaid sculpture on the grounds of the Miami Chamber of Commerce, The Jackie Gleason Theater & Emeril Lagasse's restaurant at the stunning Lowe's Hotel complex.  One of the highlights of this trip was an incredible Mexican meal outside (under cover) in the pouring rain at a place called Oh Mexico on Washington Street where Deb was introduced to my favorite, Mole Poblano.  After Miami, we programmed our bearings and headed north to Stowe, Vermont for another GPS game put together for a major, Boston based consulting firm.   A few fun birthday and graduation parties took us to Saugus, Dover & Duxbury, MA as well as Bedford & Durham, NH.  During the 4th of July week, we put on our annual treasure hunt for the town of Ossipee, NH. for their annual community celebration days (thanks to Peter Waugh, the town's Director of Recreation for having us).  Tomorrow were out at Blue Hills in Canton, MA. for an orienteering training and plans are in the works for an Ultimate Boston Treasure Hunt...more news to come on that as it develops. Whether we're presenting corporate team building exercises or unique birthday games, all these great events and wonderful people met can't help but confirm that it's true....Everyone Loves a Treasure Hunt!

The Inner Child

Who doesn't reflect fondly and almost child-like at discovering & opening presents at holiday time, or the indelible thrill of an Easter egg hunt, or getting together with your friends on a cool summer evening at twilight to play hide and seek until it gets too dark and it's time to go home?  As adults, in our adult lives and all that goes with it, we lose, to some extent, this sense of play, of wonderment and curiosity, and the thrill and pride of small discoveries. We relish those rare times when we can get away from it all and be kid-like again, to use the part of the brain that holds simple logic, to be Huck Finn-like, to have a chance to overcome basic fears, to be lost and, given that it's a temporary state, found again.  And when we've had such moments of well-deserved frivolity and are back firmly entrenched in our office in front of the computer or back on the job site where everything is dictated and structured, we cherish and share those new memories of being adventurous and free to find our own way. One of the rewards of what we do, after completing a GPS Navigation Game or a treasure hunt for adults, is seeing the excitement in participant's faces and hearing them extol on how much fun they had and how it brought them back to when they were a kid.  It's the same with Team Building events in that when barrier's are broken and day-to-day corporate roles are shed, everyone exists on an even and leveled "playground," free to rediscover individual abilities and, at times, their dependence on other's to achieve a particular goal as well as their ability to be depended on. 

Life is a Highway

We've all heard the saying, "The Road Map of Life."  And it's true.  Everything we learn along the way, everything that makes us who we are and helps build our characters and personalities are analogous to all the peaks and valleys, new construction zones, paved and unpaved roads, four lane highways, harbors, open spaces, congested cities, small towns, serene lakes and wild winding rivers found on maps. In our business, we incorporate the analogy of life as a navigation game requiring us to familiarize ourselves with the lay of the land, recognize key points, pitfalls and best possible routes to reach our next destination and achieve desired goals one at a time.  Sometimes help is needed, much like when we incorporate GPS Navigation units in our GPS Navigation Games or when we design a detailed treasure map for our treasure hunt events. Life is a journey.....use a map!

Why We Love Maps

  Everyone seems to love maps, particularly when they're lost! OK, "love"may be overstating it, but whether it be a standard atlas or road map, or the layout of a mall or an amusement park, or a walking map of any given city, the presentation of a map always seems to interest people in a myriad of ways.  They first try to find that proverbial "You Are Here" arrow.  However, if such simplicity is not present, they generally & instinctively go into navigation mode in order to find a familiar landmark or structure to determine where they stand at that given moment.  They then think of where they've been or where they want to go, tracing in seconds with their mind's eye what may take of has taken hours for them to get to in real time and distance. They may be amazed that there's a large lake tucked in those woods they never knew about, or that the mountain they're traversing isn't really as high as it seems in relation to others in the area.  They may make a decision to take a winding rural route to their next destination instead of the same old boring, straight, predictable highway they usually venture forth on.  And who knows what new potential discoveries await along the new route! Their curiosities are piqued.  One may realize that the space they fill is so small compared to the surrounding world that they are inspired, literally and figuratively, to venture forth to new distances and heights.  That's part of the rewards we experience through Corporate GPS navigation games & team building, treasure hunts and map making.

ROTC games in NYC

Sheep Meadow was the start of a 2 hour team building event in http://www.centralparknyc.org/
Cadets ran, in teams, through the southern part of the park.  They were answering questions based on where their GPS units took them and solving puzzles to reduce their final score.  Their ultimate goal was to open a treasure chest with an unknown combination lock keeping in shut.                                                   

   The goal of the event, designed and facilitated by www.ultimatetreasurehunts.com ,
was to present opportunities for leadership, decision making, and strategical moments.  There was a hint of competition that was underscored by fun.

The 60 cadets spent 2 and a half hours participating in 'high tech play' .  The captain wrote this in a follow up email:
I can’t thank your firm enough … everyone found the event First Class!  We will definitely keep your firm in mind next year for our Leadership Lab Incentive Program planning.  Your facilitator, Deb was outstanding in her flexibility, willingness to work with our organization, and overall energy – OUTSTANDING!  Thank you for following-up.

Map based Treasure Hunts  and GPS games are experiencial education that enhance and develop a long list of personal, social and academic lessons for corporate and other groups. We can come to you and create an event or teach you how to facilitate your own memorable experience. 

GPS gamers: be discreet

Just the other day in Portsmouth, NH, there was in incident where a GPS cache alarmed the public and the gamers were arrested.  The cache they used was a metal box duct taped to an electrical box on the side of a local chain supermarket. Here is the newspaper article. Just the week before, Boston police and federal agents arrested folks that had put 'lite brite' like boxes on the bridges as part of a marketing campaign. I would have thought that would be enough to let GPS gamers know what the limits are for discretion.
A friend of mine emailed me to say how horrified he was at the arrest and he started a heated seacoast discussion online.
I have organized dozens of these GPS events in many different areas of the country both public and private.  I would not want my hard work interrupted or ruined by having a cache attract attention.
Some venues appreciate the attention that they would get if teams found a cache on their property.  Always, always, always secure permission.  Some would not like it at all as many scavenger hunts require the participants to take photos or create a situation.  Virtual caches just have the participants answer questions from the proper location.
I feel an obligation to respect the public environment that we now find ourselves in.  Having fun, learning new communication skills, and moving around outside are the goals for my games at both Ultimate Treasure Hunts  and Can You Find It?

It must be great fun because it is so popular.

Points of Interest

If you already use a GPS unit for playing or navigating urban areas, you know what a Point of Interest or a Waypoint is:  it is the location on earth (or in the air or on the water) that is determined by the satellites.  You 'mark' it with your GPS so that you can return there, look at it on a map or PC when you return home, or, in my case, come up with an interesting question that can only be answered by going to that spot.  It is the basic premise of most of my activities.  Can You Find It?  there is a really neat website that lists POIs all over the country.  If you want to travel somewhere and want to know if there are POIs already designated for you to visit, go to www.poi-factory.com and have a look.  Register for free.  What i found fascinating and maybe.....not quite what I would expect.....is a list of RED LIGHT CAMERAS!  That's right.  Use your GPS to determine where they are in the city you are visiting or living in, and avoid them or be sure to stop.  I guess.  I would think most of us would want to follow the stop light command and not run the red light.
Very interesting

GPS craze

Families, Corporate Groups, and Community Outreach Programs are all looking for ways to use this activity to have fun outside.  I recently played with an international finance company, in Houston, Texas.  Laminar Direct Capital had me come to 'map the city' with GPS units for their off site team building activity.  I roamed the city setting up Points of Interest that brought the teams to answer questions at the specific spot, or locate a hidden cache in the area the GPS told them to go.  While visiting Minute Maid Park at about 6:30 in the morning, to create a waypoint to visit, I realized that a marathon was just beginning.  I spent hours dodging their route to get to the places I needed to go.  That was the challenge, for me.
The corporate team building with GPS event went off without a hitch despite the freezing temperatures and flooding that was predicted. 
Team members were from all over the US and a an office in the U.K.  This event gave them opportunity to get to know each other, learn about Houston, and spend 4 hours locating the Points of Interest areas that I had created.  One of the favorite spots was the Beer House, but Cavender's Boot Store was the most photographed by the groups.
If you are interested in having me come to your company's fun day, just visit my website at www.can-you-find-it.com    and contact me.