Looking For Fun? Try A Scavenger Hunt
Last year my cousin Gaby J. gave me tickets to a murder mystery scavenger hunt as a Christmas present. The hunt, "Murder at the Met" was held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and it was run by a company called Watson Adventures.
Well, a few weeks later, Kay, Gaby and I joined up to form the Sherlock Dames and compete with other teams to solve the mystery of a murdered Met curator.
This is how it worked. We were given a list of questions including directions to the general vicinity of where the answers were located. A sample question: "Go up the great staircase and into gallery 22. What woman in this gallery looks like she needs a good day care center?" You and your team would then have to scrutinize the paintings in the gallery, often deciphering the tags as well, to get the answer to your question. Once you had it, you'd jot it down on your answer sheet and move on to the next one.
We got to scavenge from one corner of the Met to the other. From the Picasso gallery to the American Wing, from the Medieval gateway to the Temple of Dendur. Though we ultimately failed to deduce the name of the murderer, it didn't matter because we had a blast.
Of course with a two hour time limit, there's not nearly enough time to linger over the museum's wonderful sights, but think of the hunt as a way to whet your appetite for a more leisurely return visit.
A couple of weeks ago, Kay and I did another scavenger hunt called, Naked at the Met. This time there was no murder mystery, but as the Watson Adventures' website described the hunt:
You’ll scrutinize paintings, sculptures, period rooms, sultry sirens, a literally bronzed Adonis, a medieval codpiece, an incontinent Cupid and a randy reveler who’ll make you exclaim, “I never sausage behavior!”
The theme was all things ribald and randy---at least as it relates to the art world. Once again the hunt was well organized by helpful Watson Adventures' employees and the competition took us from one fabulous gallery to another.
Oh, and the result?
We rocked! Kay and I tied for first place.
Our little team of two got all the answers correct, as did our stiffest competition, a team of four. We won "Watson Adventure Winner" t-shirts, and Kay and I were a couple of happy scavengers.
So if you're planning a visit to New York, or if you're a native and looking for something new to do, a Watson Adventure scavenger hunt might be just the thing to awaken your inner sleuth.
