College and University Campus Orientation Scavenger Hunt Ideas

This post was originally shared in June 2019, and updated June 2021.

We've prepared this list of campus-based scavenger hunt ideas as a starting point for student orientation organizers preparing a custom scavenger hunt for incoming freshmen, or any administrators putting together a fun activity for alumni and visitors.

The list is filled with generic Missions involving common buildings and areas found on most North American college and university campuses. We realize that not all of them will be applicable in every case, and we highly encourage organizers to further customize the Missions to their school before running their game.

Organizers should start by:

Adding in proper names for whom your faculty-specific buildings were named after.
Modifying the Mission requirements to involve traditions and rituals specific to your institution's faculties.
Adding in the correct answers to text Missions (all answers are currently accepted).
Creating new Missions for any notable/important buildings or locations specific to your school that we didn't include on our list.

Still planning your scavenger hunts on paper and interested in how GooseChase can supercharge your next campus experience? Take a look at our Campus Orientation page to see how easy it is to get started on GooseChase!

💡

Looking for more fun ideas to get your student (and teacher!) community up and out of their seats? Check out more Mission ideas here...
➡ Nature-based Missions to try out in the wild
➡ Ideas for fundraisers
➡ Seasonal ideas for St. Patrick's Day, Winter break, Valentine's Day, and more

College and University Campus Scavenger Hunt Ideas

Arts Building (Video) - Find another student in the Arts Building and take a video of you acting out a short passage from their favourite Shakespeare play with them.
Business Building (Photo) - Bright minds fluent in the exchange of goods and services on a large scale ensure that trade continues both within and outside the country's borders. Take a photo of you shaking hands with somebody wearing a tie inside the Business Building.
Campus Library (Photo) - Find out where the largest library on campus is and take a photo of yourself getting your read on in the main study hall.
Campus Security/Lost and Found (Photo) - This is where you should head if you need to report an incident or recover a lost item. Find out where the Campus Security central office is, head over, and take a photo with one of the officers on duty.
Career Center (Photo) - The Career Center is your gateway to promising internships and future job prospects. Head over and take a selfie with one of the friendly career counsellors on duty!
Engineering Building (Photo) - Here you'll find students designing the products, structures, and technological innovations of our future. Find somebody with a calculator and take a photo with the two of you pondering the results on the calculator's screen.
Founder Statue (Photo) - Find the statue of our school's founder on campus and take a selfie with them.
Law Building (Photo) - The legal scholars here are training to become advocates, counsellors, notaries, solicitors, and attorneys of tomorrow. Find somebody who is a law student, and take a photo with one of you signing a napkin as if it was a legal document.
Mascot (Text) - What is the name of our school's athletic team mascot?
Medical Sciences Building (Photo) - Find a tired looking medical student and take a photo of you buying them a coffee (they'll be needing it!)
Quadrangle (Photo) - A school's best and brightest majors in chillaxin' are found on a campus Quad. Find somebody on the quad with either a Frisbee, a Guitar, or a Dog and take a photo with them!
Science Building (Photo) - At the Faculty of Science students are learning, systemizing, and testing their predictions about organized knowledge in our universe. Find somebody who has a pair of safety googles on them and take a photo with them wearing it.
Student Bar (Photo) - Find the student-run bar on campus and take a photo with the bartender. Make sure you're not spending all your student loans here!
Student Union/Student's Association (Photo) - A school's student union organizes activities and advocates on behalf of the student body. Find the Student Union Building or Main Office and take a photo at the entrance.
Tuning In (Text) - What is the 4-letter call sign of our campus' local radio station?

Add Missions to Your Account

Be sure to also check out our other scavenger hunt ideas! You can also contact our team by sending an email to hi@goosechase.com.

What is GooseChase?

GooseChase is an online platform that helps organizers create and run digital scavenger hunt experiences for team building, learning, public engagement, or a variety of other events. Sign up and try creating a free recreational game, or contact us to learn more about our enterprise solutions!