Coding 1 Treasure Hunt: Captain Binary

Indoor Treasure Hunt

This ready-to-go, 10-part treasure hunt is designed for students 5 - 10 with no previous coding experience.

Great supplemental activity for screen-free practice of coding in the style of Scratch.

This indoor treasure hunt is the perfect break from computer-based distance learning, because it gets bodies moving while keeping students' minds engaged as they practice deductive reasoning, following cardinal directions, and introducing coding concepts. On this treasure hunt, students new to coding will learn about moving in set increments, repeating groups of code, conditional statements and forever loops. This activity takes about 1 to 1.5 hours to complete, depending on the student's age and familiarity with coding.

Download and set up in about 10 minutes, this treasure hunt includes instructions for where to hide each clue. Each puzzle leads to a common household item (see below for list). Purchase includes ten colorful treasure hunt clues and an answer key, a supplemental primer on how to read code blocks in the style of Scratch, and a supplemental handout on how to read cardinal directions.

TIP: This treasure hunt is perfect for younger students new to coding because it uses cardinal directions to navigate the map. Cardinal directions are absolute--for example, North will always point North no matter which direction they are facing--which makes it very clear which direction they should turn. This allows them to focus just on the new coding concepts introduced.

To use this treasure hunt you will need a printer, at least 10 pieces of paper (for the 10 clues, or 13 pieces of paper with the supplemental educational material and congratulations page), and the following hiding locations around your home:

• Keyboard
• Couch
• Pillow
• Shower
• Chair
• Microwave
• Shoe
• Fork
• Bookshelf
• Fire Extinguisher