Scavenger Hunt

              

         1. The Creative Minds Class Blog

              2. Person Sleeping in Library

                            3. Bus Stop

4. Euphrat Museum of Art            5. Pepsi/Coke bottle in Bookstore       6. Student wearing Converse         7. Person who has seen Tron in 3D      I think the Scavenger Hunt was a great opportunity for students to express themselves and to get to know each other. It was a way for students to realize their strengths and weaknesses. When our group first started off we did not have a set plan on how to go about completing the tasks on the list. Having only 35 minutes for completing the hunt, we felt rushed. However we were sure that we wanted to find as many items on the list as possible in order to get a spot in the class. We took action by running and randomly choosing any item on the list that seemed familiar to us. As we ran, we thought that we should probably change our technique in order to save time and find as many places as possible. We began thinking more literally, finding the closest places first and the farthest places last. We also tried to observe and imitate what other groups were doing in order to better improve our technique. For example, we noticed one group was asking a random person to pretend to be sleeping so they could take a picture of him. While observing others, we noticed the alternative ways groups were coming up with solutions to complete their tasks. This technique seemed somewhat like cheating though it really helped. After seeing this we tried to become more open-minded and not so literal about completing our tasks. This idea saved us a great deal of time. The experience of asking a random person to fake sleep for our class activity was somewhat funny and awkward at the same time. As our hunt continued and our time became scarce, we began to face some problems. One of our main problems was that we did not plan our hunt thoroughly in advance (i.e. 10 minutes before the hunt began) to take advantage of every location as much as possible. Hence, we, for example, had to go back to the library for a second time. In the end, we realized that we could have used the Internet to find most of the items on the list, avoiding having to run around campus to find everything. However, it was still a fun and memorable experience. If I had the chance to do this hunt again, I would definitely try to be less literal in my approach. I would try to think more open mindedly and creatively since that was probably the main objective of the hunt. I would think of alternative solutions and manage my time more wisely, using the Internet as my main source for finding most of the items. From this experience, I can conclude that the scavenger hunt reveals a lot about creativity, individuals, and society. This scavenger hunt taught me a lot about my strengths and weaknesses. I realized that I was too worried about losing credit if I took risks, keeping me from putting much thought into planning. I later realized that risk taking was part of what the instructor was looking for. She intended for students to take risks and be creative by making decisions out of the ordinary. On the contrary, my train of thought constrained my group members and I from thinking outside the box. We tried thinking more traditionally and completed the tasks in a more straight forward fashion. A scavenger hunt can also reveal a lot about an individual. It can also push a group of people out of there comfort zone allowing them to express themselves more spontaneously without any restriction. It can help individuals to get to know one another and that can be one of the most important things when being in a class. The hunt’s main purpose is to bring a group of people together from different backgrounds and cultures to work together with one goal. This goal represents what the underlying character of society should be. When a diverse group of individuals can effectively collaborate to reach a common goal, there is a growing sense of community that can universally contribute to society’s efficiency. In my opinion, the scavenger hunt was one of the best ways to start the course in that it was an opportunity for students to quickly connect, opening possibilities for more constructive interaction throughout the course.