Audio Scavenger Hunt
Scavenger hunts are great fun, especially when you do it with friends.
An audio scavenger hunt is even more fun! Begin by dividing into at least two competing teams. Each team must find as many items as they can on the scavenger list, within the allotted time frame—one hour? Two hours? You decide. Make the time window as generous as you like, depending on how ambitious the list is.
The only difference between a regular scavenger hunt and an audio scavenger hunt is the goal, which is to collect as many sounds as you can within the time allowed. How do you know if a team has actually located the sounds they say they have? Easy! Both teams record their finds for everyone to hear. Make sure each team has some kind of portable recorder, and you’re all set. See the Keep a Sound Journal page for recording equipment ideas. You can also check our How-To page.
Prizes: Make Them Audio
When everyone returns with their recorded finds, break out the pizza and listen! The team with the highest point score wins. To stay with the theme of audio awareness, make the prizes an audio experience. Something that can be shared with the whole team: cheap noisemakers, voice recording key chains—maybe a sound performance by the losing team!
Your Scavenger List
...is limited only by your imagination and the likelihood of finding the sounds.
Staten Island’s Victory Boulevard is abuzz with sounds from a dozen different cultures and kitchens. Photo by Dave Cook / Eating In Translation
Urban Scavenger Hunt
This audio scavenger hunt is ideal for an urban or downtown business environment.
1. Pigeon cooing (5 points)
2. Person speaking on the cell phone (5 points)
3. Door buzz on a bank or store (10 points)
4. Subway train coming into or leaving the station (10 points)
5. The sound of a city bus (10 points)
6. Car horn (5 points)
7. Ambulance, police or fire truck siren (20 points)
8. Public announcement on a loudspeaker (10 points)
9. Children laughing (5 points)
10. Balloon popping (20 points)
11. Basketball bouncing (10 points)
12. Sound of an escalator (10 points)
13. Vehicle tires squealing (10 points)
14. Cell phone ringer playing the 1812 Overture by Tchaikovsky (20 points)
15. Hiss of a soft drink can being opened for the first time (10 points)
16. Soft drink can being crushed under someone’s foot (10 points)
17. Hot coffee being poured (10 points)
18. The sounds of Latin music (5 points)
19. Truck motor (5 points)
20. Garbage truck crushing garbage (20 points)
21. Woman singing (20 points)
22. A musical instrument being played (20 points)
23. The sound of change (coins) (10 points)
24. The voice of a street vendor (20 points)
25. The sound of a cappacino machine (10 points)
26. Bicycle bell (20 points)
27. A computer being booted up (10 points)
28. The sound of tap shoes (30 points)
29. Running water (5 points)
30. The sound of someone rapping (10 points)
Tottenville’s Beach is still relatively rural—a great place to hear your own voice and the natural world around you. Photo by Lindsey Thoeng. All rights reserved.
Neighborhood Scavenger Hunt
This audio scavenger hunt is ideal for a suburban or rural neighborhood, although it could be used in the city as well.
1. Dog barking (5 points)
2. The sounds of a pig (10 points)
3. Footsteps on gravel (5 points)
4. Trash cans being dragged to the curb (10 points)
5. Sounds of a local baseball or football game (10 points)
6. Someone speaking in Spanish (20 points)
7. A song that isn’t in English (20 points)
8. A person playing a musical instrument (20 points)
9. Sound of a lawnmower (5 points)
10. Car horn honking (5 points)
11. Sound of a motorcycle (5 points)
12. Snow blower running (20 points)
13. Ambulance, police or fire truck siren (10 points)
14. Kids shouting (5 points)
15. Baby crying (10 points)
16. Sounds in a car repair shop (10 points)
17. Bicycle bell (10 points)
18. Sounds from a construction site (5 points)
19. Crow cawing (10 points)
20. Duck quacking (10 points)
21. Sound of a jet plane (5 points)
22. Garage door opening or closing (10 points)
23. Basketball bouncing (10 points)
24. Doorbell ringing (5 points)
25. Trees rustling (10 points)
26. Sound of a newspaper pages being turned (10 points)
27. Woman laughing (5 points)
28. Window opening or closing (5 points)
29. Chair being dragged (10 points)
30. The hiss of bus breaks (10 points)
The celebratory sounds of the Day of the Dead can be heard every year at the Cromwell Center on Staten Island. This 6-string, acoustic bass guitarrón is unique to Mexican mariachi bands. Photo by Irma Bohorquez-Geisler. All rights reserved.
Cultural Scavenger Hunt
Of the three, this is probably the hardest audio scavenger hunt. Allow several hours to collect the sounds.
1. Guitar or violin strings being plucked (5 points)
2. A plastic bucket being drummed (5 points)
3. The sound of piano keys (5 points)
4. A group of people singing (5 points)
5. A person singing opera (20 points)
6. A person singing a show tune (10 points)
7. A person performing rap (10 points)
8. An organ playing (5 points)
9. The sound of bagpipes being played (20 points)
10. Someone playing a harmonica (10 points)
11. Tap shoes tapping (20 points)
12. A person (or group of people) speaking in Mandarin (20 points)
13. A person (or group of people) speaking in Polish (20 points)
14. A person (or group of people) speaking in Spanish (20 points)
15. A person (or group of people) speaking in Russian (20 points)
16. A soccer ball being kicked (5 points)
17. The crack of a cricket bat (10 points)
18. The sounds of a stickball game (10 points)
19. The click of mahjong tiles (10 points)
20. The shaking of dice (5 points)
21. The sounds of a barbershop or hair salon (10 points)
22. Asian restaurant environmental sounds (10 points)
23. Italian restaurant environmental sounds (10 points)
24. Sounds recorded in a diner (10 points)
25. Church bells (10 points)
26. The Islamic call to prayer (20 points)
27. An auctioneer’s voice (30 points)
28. The audio environmental sounds of a natural history museum (20 points)
29. The audio environmental sounds of a bookstore (10 points)
30. The audio environmental sounds of an art gallery (20 points)
