A virtual Resurrection Scavenger Hunt is a great family challenge for Holy Week and Easter. In this Covid-era, this activity fits the bill for adapting church-based activities to being inspiring home-based activities. Simply ask families to gather these Christ-centered items and then submit a photo of themselves with all the items. Photo submittals can be received either by email or by posting to social media. This activity can be easily adapted for Zoom sessions with youth as described below.
Resurrection Scavenger Hunt Assignment
Guidelines for the scavenger hunt:
- Read from your family Bible
- Matthew 27: 27-52 (Passion)
- Matthew 28:1-10 (Resurrection)
- Gather the 16 items listed below. Be creative!
- Take a picture with your items. Feel free to include as many family members as desired in the photo.
- Email your picture to our youth minister. All entries will be eligible for a drawing to win prizes.
- If you have an Instagram account, please post your with photo with the hashtag #resurrectionhunt. Tag our church so your success is shared with community!
Items to Find
- Bible left open to the Resurrection story in Matthew 28:1-10 .
- Bread and Juice to represent what Jesus shared at the Last Supper.
- A wash cloth to represent the towel that Jesus used to dry the feet of the disciples after he washed them.
- Jar containing the number of coins that Judas received for betraying Jesus as written in Matthew 26:15.
- Something the same color as the item mentioned in Matthew 27:28-30.
- A pair of dice to represent how lots were cast for Jesus’ garments (see Matthew 27:35-37).
- A stem of any plant with thorns (or a drawing) to represent the crown of thorns placed on Jesus’ head.
- A small cross or 2 sticks shaped into a cross shape.
- Nails to represent what was pounded into Jesus’ hands and feet.
- Rock or stone to represent the large stone placed in front of the entrance of Jesus tomb.
- A strip of white cloth or long toilet paper section to represent the linen that Jesus’ body was wrapped in before being placed in the tomb.
- 3 of something to represent the number of days in the tomb.
- An empty container to signify the empty tomb.
- Something new with tags still on to represent that Jesus gives us New Life!
- Something that rhymes with “JOY” to signify the joy we feel on Easter morning.
- The words “He is Risen. Alleluia.” written on a sheet of paper.
**For an editable Word (docx) version of this checklist, please see my store on TeachersPayTeachers in order to download.
Adapting activity to a Zoom session
If your youth are meeting via zoom sessions, then this activity can be easily adapted to any session where you will be discussing the Passion of Christ and/or Easter. Here are some options:
- ask participants to choose and find 5 items from the list to share at the Zoom meeting
- pare down the list to 5 or 6 items and ask the zoom participants to share those items at the Zoom session.
- challenge the participants to find a particular item on the spot during the Zoom session and then have them show it to the rest of the group via screen sharing.
Other Family Activities
Outdoor Stations of the Cross
For another idea for Holy Week, see the outdoor Stations of the Cross section in the post on Best Covid Safe Family Events for Faith Formation.
Virtual Pentecost Scavenger Hunt for Home or Zoom
Why not offer a similar scavenger hunt for Pentecost? See this post on a Virtual Pentecost Scavenger Hunt of Home or Zoom.