Orientation week is one of the most important moments for universities to welcome new students. One of the most effective and engaging orientation week activities is a campus scavenger hunt. These interactive games encourage exploration, teamwork, and fun while introducing students to important campus locations.
In this guide, we’ll share 26 campus scavenger hunt ideas that universities can use during orientation events in 2026.
Campus scavenger hunts are one of the most effective orientation week activities because they combine exploration, teamwork, and social interaction in a single event. Unlike traditional campus tours or presentations, scavenger hunts actively involve students in discovering their new environment.
These interactive orientation week activities work especially well because they:
Below are 26 campus scavenger hunt ideas designed specifically for university orientation week, freshers week, and campus welcome week events. These activities combine exploration, social interaction, and problem-solving, making them some of the most effective orientation week activities universities can organise.
Each idea includes example challenges paired with recommended task types using PlayTours, the best scavenger hunt app for campus scavenger hunts, to help orientation teams quickly turn the concept into a fully playable campus scavenger hunt.
These campus scavenger hunt activities help students learn the physical layout of their new university during orientation week. The faster students feel spatially confident on campus, the faster they settle in.
Students must find and photograph key campus locations, the library, student centre, main quad, the clock tower, and faculty buildings. Simple to organise, zero budget required, and immediately gives new students a mental map of the spaces they'll use every day.
Example Challenges
1. Library Team Selfie
Take a team selfie in front of the main university library.
Task type: Image
2. Main Quad Check-In
Navigate to the main quad and check in when you arrive.
Task type: Direction
3. Campus Motto
What is the university motto displayed at the entrance gate?
Task type: Text
Student teams navigate campus using digital map and follow the clues. Builds genuine spatial confidence and works especially well on large or multi-site campuses where students frequently get lost in their first weeks.
Example Challenges
1. Garden Check-In
Find the campus garden and check in.
Task type: Location
2. Navigation Puzzle
Unscramble the phrase revealing the next building name.
Task type: Scrambled Phrase
3. Distance Guess
How many minutes does it take to walk from the library to the student center?
Task type: Integer
Students visit different faculty buildings and complete a short challenge at each one such as answering a trivia question, finding a noticeboard, or speaking to a department ambassador. Particularly valuable at large universities where students in one faculty rarely discover what else exists on campus.
Example Challenges
1. Department Noticeboard Photo
Take a photo of the department noticeboard.
Task type: Image
2. Lecture Hall Check-In
Find the largest lecture hall and check in.
Task type: Direction
3. Ambassador Interview
Record a short video asking a student ambassador about their program.
Task type: Video
Participants locate sculptures, murals, and public art installations scattered across campus. Works brilliantly as a secondary layer within any larger hunt, and connects students to the cultural identity of their institution from Day 1.
Example Challenges
1. Sculpture Photo
Take a creative photo with the campus sculpture.
Task type: Image
2. Artwork Title
What is the title of the mural outside the arts building?
Task type: Text
3. Artist Identification
Who created the sculpture near the student centre?
Task type: Multiple Choice
Students discover recycling points, composting stations, green-certified buildings, and sustainability initiatives around campus. Excellent for universities that want to communicate their values to incoming students early and one of the more memorable college orientation activities for environmentally engaged cohorts.
Example Challenges
1. Recycling Station Check-In
Find a recycling station and check in.
Task type: Direction
2. Green Building Photo
Upload a photo of a green-certified building.
Task type: Image
3. Sustainability Quiz
Which initiative reduces plastic waste on campus?
Task type: Multiple Choice
These college orientation activities solve one of the biggest problems in new student transition: students not knowing where to turn when they need help. By turning support service discovery into a game, universities dramatically increase the likelihood that students will actually use these resources when it matters.
Teams locate academic advising, financial aid, and student support offices across campus. Students who visit these offices during orientation are significantly more likely to seek help proactively during the term, making this one of the highest-impact ideas on this entire list.
Example Challenges
1. Advising Office Check-In
Check in at the academic advising office.
Task type: Direction
2. Services Desk Photo
Upload a photo of the student services desk.
Task type: Image
3. Office Hours Question
What time does the student support office open?
Task type: Text
Students complete a series of challenges inside the university library: finding the quiet study zone, locating the research help desk, identifying a special collection. Getting students physically comfortable in the library during orientation week dramatically increases how often they use it all year.
Example Challenges
1. Quiet Zone Photo
Take a photo in the library quiet study zone.
Task type: Image
2. Research Desk Check-In
Check in at the research help desk.
Task type: Direction
3. Library Word Puzzle
Find hidden words related to research skills.
Task type: Word Search
Students must identify the practical places they'll need most frequently: the campus bookstore, IT help desk, printing facilities, and key study spaces. Framing it as a "survival kit" hunt makes the information feel genuinely useful rather than like a box-ticking exercise.
Example Challenges
1. IT Help Desk Check-In
Check in at the campus IT help desk.
Task type: Direction
2. Printing Station Photo
Upload a photo of a campus printing station.
Task type: Image
3. Wi-Fi Name
What is the official student Wi-Fi network name?
Task type: Text
Teams find student clubs, societies, and activity centres across campus. This doubles as a recruitment tool for student unions looking to boost society memberships during freshers week and helps quieter students discover communities they'd never have sought out independently.
Example Challenges
1. Club Booth Photo
Take a photo at a student club booth.
Task type: Image
2. Society Trivia
Which club organizes weekly debate sessions?
Task type: Multiple Choice
3. Join a Club Survey
Which club would you be interested in joining?
Task type: Free Multiple Choice
Students locate the international student office, multicultural centres, and language support services. Essential for universities with large international intakes, where new students may feel particularly disoriented and benefit most from knowing exactly where to find specialist support.
Example Challenges
1. International Office Photo
Take a photo outside the international student office.
Task type: Image
2. Language Centre Check-In
Check in at the language support centre.
Task type: Direction
3. Global Trivia
How many international students attend the university?
Task type: Multiple Choice
These university orientation games focus on what many students find hardest about orientation: meeting people. A scavenger hunt gives students a shared task that makes conversation feel natural rather than forced.
Students introduce themselves to teammates and gather fun facts from new people they meet, "find someone who's studied abroad," "find someone who plays a musical instrument." Forces genuine interaction without the cringe of unstructured mingling.
Example Challenges
1. Find a Musician
Find someone who plays a musical instrument and write their name.
Task type: Free Text
2. Team Selfie
Take a team selfie with at least three new people.
Task type: Image Share
3. Fun Fact Submission
Share a fun fact about a teammate.
Task type: Text Share
Teams interact with orientation leaders to complete specific missions, ask them three questions, take a photo together, get a signature. Normalises the student-to-staff relationship that research shows is one of the strongest predictors of first-year retention.
Example Challenges
1. Ask a Question Video
Record a short video asking an orientation leader a question.
Task type: Video
2. Orientation Leader Photo
Take a photo with an orientation leader.
Task type: Image
3. Signature Text Submission
Submit the name of the orientation leader you met.
Task type: Text
Students living on campus complete challenges inside or around dormitory buildings: find the laundry room, locate the RA noticeboard, introduce yourself to a neighbour. Helps residential students feel genuinely at home faster.
Example Challenges
1. Laundry Room Check-In
Check in at the dorm laundry room.
Task type: Direction
2. Meet a Neighbor Recording
Record a short audio introduction with a neighbour.
Task type: Audio
3. Dorm Rules Quiz
Which item is not allowed in residence halls?
Task type: Multiple Choice
Teams must solve a puzzle together before receiving their next location clue. Surfaces natural team dynamics, who leads, who problem-solves, who navigates, and creates the kind of shared challenge that accelerates trust between strangers.
Example Challenges
1. Crossword Puzzle
Solve the campus-themed crossword.
Task type: Crossword
2. Combination Lock Puzzle
Unlock the digital lock to reveal the next location.
Task type: Combination Lock
3. Puzzle Location Check-In
Check in at the puzzle station.
Task type: Location
Multiple scavenger challenge formats combined into a large, multi-round competition with prizes for the top teams. The flagship campus scavenger hunt event of the week, perfect for closing out orientation on a high note with the whole cohort together.
Example Challenges
1. Campus Trivia Round
Answer university trivia questions.
Task type: Multiple Choice
2. Speed Selfie Challenge
Take a selfie at the student centre within 2 minutes.
Task type: Image
3. Final Check-In
Check in at the main orientation stage.
Task type: Direction
The ideas above focus on campus exploration, student services, and social icebreaker activities during orientation week.
In Part 2 of this guide, we cover additional scavenger hunt formats including:
Continue reading here: 26 Campus Scavenger Hunt Ideas for Orientation Week (2026 Guide) - Part 2
That's it! If you need help, do email us at hello@playtours.app
