New Jersey Scavenger Hunts by Watson Adventures

NEW JERSEY SCAVENGER HUNTS

Ready for team-building with a dash of culture? On each of our scavenger hunts, you decipher clues to answer tricky, funny questions about the places you visit and things you find. Our hunts have been acclaimed by the New York Times, ABC News, the Washington Post, Citysearch, Time Out New York, Daily Candy, and numerous other media outlets. More than 87,000 hunters have done our scavenger hunts from more than 250 prestigious companies, not to mention trade associations, social groups, alumni groups, bachelorettes, school groups and more. For details on how the hunts work, and to see our rave reviews and prestigious clients, visit the Private Hunts page. Our New Jersey scavenger hunt locations include...

Hoboken
Liberty Science Center
Newark Museum
Morris Museum
Princeton
Princeton University Art Museum
Adventure Aquarium
...And Beyond

The Hoboken Hustle Scavenger Hunt

Discover the Hoboken renaissance! The history-packed town on the Hudson River has been steadily remaking itself from a factory town to a thriving new community, with the restored buildings, converted loft buildings, popular stores and restaurants to match—all while retaining the area’s colorful ethnic past. If you want a hunt that will keep surprising you, you’ll be happy in Hoboken.

Highlights include residences and other places associated with local hero Frank Sinatra; jaw-dropping views of Manhattan from Castle Terrace, high above the Hudson; the spot where the first organized game of baseball took place; locations from the movie On the Waterfront; majestic 19th-century churches; cobblestone lanes with quaint workers cottages (now worth a small fortune); the palatial, newly restored ferry terminal; a literal yellow-brick road with homes built for the executives of the bygone Maxwell House plant; and old-time German restaurants and Italian bakeries. You’ll be searching for answers to such questions as...

• At an unusual brownstone, who would help you if your package absolutely, positively has to arrive in a previous century? Answer: The mailbox has an image of a postman on a horse.

• In Church Square Park, what noteworthy figure lies close to where his compatriots today only play dead? Taps, a firemen’s mascot dog, buried at the base of the Firefighter’s Monument.

• If you slid into third at an intersection honoring the first baseball game, what would you wind up in front of? Maxwell’s, the famous music club—each corner of the intersection has a different base in the sidewalk.

We offer 90-minute and two-hour versions of this hunt. You can also add our creative Team Photo Questions for more team-building fun. The town offers a wide array of restaurants and bars where hunters can relax after the hunt while we score the results and announce the winners. Hoboken is easily reached by mass transit: Buses, the PATH train and NJ Transit trains all take you there. Contact us for more information about the hunt.

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The Liberty Science Center

After extensive renovations, the museum is open again! Put on your white lab coat for an investigation into lasers, live insects, the 90-foot Torsional Wave, the pitch-black Touch Tunnel, the Eat or Be Eaten and Energy Quest exhibits, a cool new display about skyscrapers, six tanks of live fish and a wall where you can leave your own digital graffiti. You’ll search for answers to such questions as...

• If you were on Fear Factor, what condiment would you ask for with your tarantula? Answer: BBQ Sauce. When wrapped in leaves and BBQ’d, tarantulas are considered a delicacy. Tastes like shrimp!

• What can a Killy do to avoid becoming a killee? A Killifish can jump out of the water to avoid predators.

• What artificial friend would be comfortable in a bar or comedy club? Elektro, a robot built for the 1939-40 New York World’s Fair, amazed folks with his ability to walk, talk, smoke cigarettes and tell jokes.

We offer one hour and 90-minute hunts at the Science Center. Learn more about the LSC at lsc.org. Contact us for more information about the hunt.

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The Newark Museum Madness Scavenger Hunt

Just a few blocks away from the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, the Newark Museum may be one of the tri-state area’s best-kept secrets, boasting one of the most diverse collections under one roof. You’ll explore spectacular American art galleries, plus remarkable collections of Asian, African and Ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman art. There’s even an entire 19th-century mansion, the Ballantine house, connected with the museum and restored to its original glory. But wait, there’s more! Your hunt includes the museum’s mini-zoo, Dynamic Earth exhibit, sculpture garden, and even a collection of historical firefighting artifacts in an old carriage house. This adventure is like several hunts combined in one!

• What two artists probably got a tan while capturing a famous New York place seen in here? Answer: Thomas Edison’s movie and Glackens’ painting both depict early Coney Island.

• Find a Tibetan musical instrument that might make you think of a pounding headache. What is its key ingredient? Answer: A skull

• What might Mrs. Stein have stuffed in her cheeks to make her Native American daughter jingle? Answer: She used chewing tobacco tins to make bells for a dress.

• Find a stinging insect that apparently puts some rouge on its knees. If it wants to give you the brush off, what winds up in your eyes? Answer: The red-kneed tarantula brushes hairs into an attacker’s eyes.

The museum is easily accessible by car or mass transit. New Jersey Transit and the PATH train both take you to Penn Station in Newark, where you can take a bus to the museum. And the New Jersey Transit’s Broad Street / Newark stop is a few blocks away from the museum. For more information about the Museum, visit www.newarkmuseum.org. Contact us for more information about the hunt.

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The Morris Museum Mania Hunt

A lot of amazing variety is packed into the Morris Museum, with galleries devoted to mechanical music boxes, dinosaurs, dollhouses and toys, a historic classroom, mammals, minerals, Native Americans, model trains, and more, all in a 1913 mansion in Morristown. A major highlight is the Guinness Collection sampling of 60 centuries-old mechanical musical instruments and automata, featuring monkey musicians, Asian acrobats, magicians and more, all wound up and seen performing. (Check out the images and video of the marvels in action.) You’ll also investigate a suspicious Rembrandt, stegosaurus tracks, a rampant (stuffed) bear, fluorescent rocks, a miniature palace fit for a king, an Iroquois Howard Stern, and the Queen of Oogaboo, on the way to Oz. You’ll search for the answers to such questions as...

• Mechanical monkeys do a lot of things in the Hedley Gallery (see an example). But what does one monkey do that best gives new meaning to the phrase “Turnabout is fair play”? Answer: It is an organ grinder: Organ grinders were often accompanied by a monkey, but also this monkey is turning a crank to play music.

• Near the work of a Noble Butler, what does a “monarch” recommend for the hacking cough of consumption? Answer: In the re-creation of an old-fashioned classroom, there’s a book by Noble Butler. Nearby, a ruler advertises the miracle elixir Brown’s Bronchial Troches, which relieves “consumption...bronchitis, asthma and catarrh.” Who wants some?

• In the Native American gallery, find what appears to be the ancestor of an infamous shock jock. What animal contributed to the item? Answer: A horse contributed the very long hair to an Iroquois “Big-Lipped Grandfather False Face Make” that resembles Howard Stern.

The museum can be rented out for private events (we’ve staged a private hunt for 75 people here), with hunts that can last up to 90 minutes. Contact us for more information about the hunt.

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The Princeton Prowl Scavenger Hunt

The historic town of Princeton—where George Washington defeated the British—and the stunning campus of Princeton University combine to provide a hunt landscape that is filled with history, art, dramatic buildings, goofy gargoyles, famous Americans and amazing views. Guest stars include Russell Crowe (from locations for A Beautiful Mind), F. Scott Fitzgerald, John F. Kennedy, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Henry Moore, Aaron Burr, Woodrow Wilson, Albert Einstein, William Hurt (from locations for One True Thing), David Duchovny of The X-Files, Meg Ryan (in the movie I.Q.), and an enemy bulldog. You’ll tackle such questions as...

• What draining enemy did a Yalie leave on the Chapel? Answer: A bulldog, the mascot of Yale, stamped into a downspout (the Chapel’s architect attended Yale).

• Who or what captures a Kodak moment in front of 1879 Hall? A monkey gargoyle, aiming a box camera down at you.

• At an arch that honors a ’child, how many boys seem to be thinking, “Home alone!”? Two faces on Rothschild Arch clap their hands to the sides of their face like Macaulay Culkin in ‘Home Alone.’

We offer 90-minute and two-hour versions of this hunt. You can also add our creative Team Photo Questions for more team-building fun. Several places in town make great spots for gathering after the hunt for food and drink while we tabulate and announce the results. In particular, we recommend the Triumph Brewery on Nassau Street. Contact us for more information about the hunt.

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The Princeton University Art Museum Scavenger Hunt

Note: The upper level of the museum is closed for renovation through September 5. There won’t be enough of the museum open for a hunt until the work is complete. Instead, we recommend the Princeton outdoor hunt above or a hunt at the Morris Museum in Morristown, or the Newark Museum, or at museums in New York or Philadelphia.

If you’d like to do a hunt in Princeton but the weather isn’t cooperating, consider a hunt that goes far beyond Princeton—from ancient Egypt to Paris of the Impressionists. Located on campus not far from Nassau Street, the museum packs a lot of art and history into its two floors, and our whirlwind tour will show you the best, the quirkiest and the coolest items in the collection. Highlights include works by Europe’s Old Masters, Roman and Greek gods and emperors, African ritual objects, Chinese and Indian Buddhas, Warhol’s Jackie O., and Red Grooms’ amusing diorama re-creating a famous artists hangout in 1940s Greenwich Village. You don’t need to know anything about art—this is more of a test of your wits and teamwork—but you’ll come away with a greater appreciation after seeing art in a new way. You’ll be searching for answers to such questions as...

• What artist’s work will make you exclaim “O!” at least twice? Answer: Warhol painted two portraits of Jackie O.

• If you were playing poker with him, who could you say always has a hot hand? A painting of Elijah shows him with flames cupped in his palm.

• What does an Aztec man wear that might prompt him to exclaim, “Hands off!”? An Aztec man wears the skin of a victim, except for the hands.

The museum can accommodate a hunt of an hour to 90 minutes long. Please note that the maximum capacity of this hunt is 30 people, and the hunt price will include a contribution to the museum for admission. For more information about the museum, visit www.princetonartmuseum.org. Contact us for more information about the hunt.

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The Swimming with Sharks Scavenger Hunt at the Adventure Aquarium

It’s sink or swim on this hunt through the state-of-the-art Adventure Aquarium, featuring a wide array of exhibits, environments and surprising sea creatures. Highlights include Penguin Island, the toothsome Shark Realm, the bizarro deep-sea creatures of the Jules Verne Gallery, the technicolor Caribbean Currents exhibit, the gigantic, 760,000-gallon Ocean Realm tank, the Amazonian inhabitants of the roaring Irazu Falls. You’ll search for answers to such questions as...

• Find a display on Caribbean Currents. If a recluse here needs to hit the bottle, what is it lacking? Answer: A hermit crab will use a bottle if a shell is unavailable.

• Find a bird that, given its name, seems always ready for battle. If you were dating one of these fowl females and took her out to dinner, what would you do to really impress her? Answer: A helmeted curassow male will let a female eat from his mouth.

• Find the creature here you’re mostly likely to find in your house as an unwanted intruder. You might develop some sympathy for it when you answer this: What do the females do once that affects them the rest of their life? Answer: Female cockroaches have sex once and then stay pregnant the rest of their lives.

All in all, this is a great setting for an unusual 90-minute hunt. You can also couple a hunt with a catered meal, which you can enjoy while taking in the Philadelphia skyline across the Delaware River. The aquarium is located on the Camden Waterfront, near the Ben Franklin Bridge. Contact us for more information about the hunt.

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...And Beyond

We’re always looking for new locations, and we also offer the popular Anywhere Hunt and classic Grab ’n’ Go Hunt, both of which we’ve staged for companies at parks, resorts, neighborhoods, even in apartment buildings and homes. We also offer hunts in Philadelphia and New Hope, Pennsylvania. Contact us to find out what we can create for you!

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ON YOUR MARK, GET SET...

If you’re ready to book a hunt, or have questions, call Watson Adventures at 877-9-GO HUNT, extension 11 (877-946-4868). Or use our handy e-mail Contact Form. The hunt’s afoot!

TRY A PUBLIC HUNT: SEE OUR HUNT NEWSLETTER

Watson Adventures offers weekend public hunts in New York, Philadelphia and New Jersey for low promotional prices. To see the latest schedule, check out the Public Hunt Schedule pages, or receive the schedule as part of our free e-mail newsletter, The Culture Vulture, with both a monthly New York Area Edition and a quarterly Philadelphia Edition. Each newsletter also includes amazing trivia, jokes from famous comedians, and links to cool and offbeat Web sites. If you’d like to receive the newsletter in your own e-mail box, sign up here—and on the next page you’ll see, be sure to check off the edition you’d like to receive:

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