Revamped Library Scavenger Hunt

Mepham Library Orientation Scavenger Hunt Handout

Mepham High School Library Orientation is always a fun lesson to teach. We love getting a chance to meet and spend some time with the new incoming class. It's also a good time for us to showcase all the wonderful aspects of the library. Many years ago (12 to be exact!), we updated this lesson to include a scavenger hunt and while some of the questions have changed over the years, the general premise has not... until now.

This year, we put a new twist on an old favorite! The newly revamped Mepham Library Orientation Scavenger Hunt now has a Breakout EDU component. We split the classes into two teams of "pirates." Each "Treasure Chest" (Breakout EDU boxes) had four locks on it; one 5-letter lock, two 3-digit number locks, and one key lock. Students still receive the handout above with a few more questions, eight in total. Four of the answers open up the locks on the "Treasure Chests." We put 10 minutes up on the clock and set the "pirates" to work!

Team #2 tries a combination to open one of the locks. 

Question #1 refers to the location (room number) of the library within the school and #5 refers to the physical space within the library, in a section that students often need help locating materials. The answers to these questions are in an online video that the students watch at the beginning of class and also in this handout with general library information.

Question # 2 guides students to our online catalog, so that they may find resources in the school library. The online catalog can be assessed from any device that has access to the Internet.

Question # 3 relates to the length of time that items can be checked out of the library. We do not have many rules or policies in the school library, but this is a good one for students to know. This also leads to questions about renewing.

Question # 4 lets students know when they are able to use the library. Our hours are posted on the library doors and are on this handout that students receive at Library Orientation.

Question # 6 and # 7 require students to use Destiny Quest, our online catalog. Furthermore, question # 6 asks students to locate the book once they have gotten the call # through Destiny Quest. Once they locate the book, they need to open it and find the dedication.

Question # 7 asks students to jot down the call # of a book that they will subsequently read. This particular book is a fictional story, but is found in our non-fiction section. This question leads to a discussion of the literature and rhetoric section (800s) of the Dewey Decimal System.

To answer Question (#8), students need to go to the library website, which in itself is a great resource with many links. The Mepham High School Library Orientation Scavenger Hunt handout has a QR code with a direct link to our website.

This lesson has it all. Students are up and moving, exploring the library and using technology. They seem to enjoy the element of competition. Which team can break into the "Treasure Chest" first? Who gets bragging rights? Most students find a way to contribute to their team. The teams that work together with good communication and collaboration find success. Everyone including the classroom teachers and librarian had fun!

We cap off the lesson by asking students to give the library a "Yelp" review, giving us 1-5 stars and answering the three questions below.

The most frequently asked question during Mepham High School Library's Orientation Scavenger Hunt: What's inside the "Treasure Chest"? Well, treasure, of course!