Vacation Scavenger Hunt 2015
Sci MATH ence
For Students Entering Grades 3-5
1 Point Questions
1. What are three items that are in your refrigerator that have the highest
calorie count per serving?
2. Find a label from anything that is exactly 454 grams.
3. Determine the amount of money one pound of quarters is worth.
4. Name a time you would use estimation instead of an exact answer and tell why.
5. Name an event you attended and the amount of time you were there in hours and minutes.
6. Draw or print a map of somewhere you travel to this summer with the route drawn on it and how many
miles you drove.
7. Cut a piece of string or ribbon exactly one yard long. Lay it on a piece of construction paper and move it
around to create a picture. You must use the whole string without cutting it. Glue your string down in that
shape and decorate your picture.
8. Find the number of M&Ms in a meter. Did you use peanut or regular?
9. Make a list of ten things that unusually come in a dozen.
10. Estimate how many jumping jacks you can do in one minute. Now do them and compare your results.
11. Make a list of five things that are about one (1) inch long.
12. Find or create a pattern that uses numbers. Show the pattern and describe it in words.
13. Find a picture of something that shows parallel lines.
14. Estimate how much water you use to brush your teeth if you leave the faucet running, from start to finish.
Have someone help you measure the amount in quarts and record it.
15. Determine how long it takes to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in seconds.
16. Estimate the number of shoes you own. Now find the actual number and compare with your estimate.
CREC Magnet Schools
Vacation Scavenger Hunt
2 Point Questions
1. Pick a number that is important to you. Give three mathematical reasons why you chose that number.
2. List ten different ways to make change for a dollar.
3. Keep track of how much time you exercise for five days. Find the average (mean or median) and, using
this information, estimate how much time you would do this activity for a month. Show how you found
your estimate. You can ask for help finding the average.
4. What is the value of a bag of dimes that weighs as much as you?
5. Record the temperature at the same time every day for a week. What was the highest temperature and
the lowest temperature?
6. Make two different pieces of origami. Show the directions you followed.
3 Point Questions
1. Weigh the amount of junk mail your house collects each day for one week. Record the information and
use the information to estimate the total weight of junk mail your house collects for the whole summer.
Show how you found your estimate and display your data in a graph or chart.
2. Create a mobile that has at least five items that hang and balance from it. Explain how you developed
your design.
3. Create a dot to dot (connect the dots) picture that counts by something other than ones (twos, fives). Be
creative, use a pattern, such as plus 1, plus 2, plus 1, plus 2. Have a blank copy with just the numbers
and a finished copy with the picture drawn in. Be sure to tell what your pattern is on the sheets.
4. Create a timeline on a long sheet of paper using activities you did or places you visited during the
summer. Be sure to use a scale, for example, each day equals one inch or one month is equal to one foot.
Your timeline should include at least six activities or places you visited.
5. Record how much water do you drink in a day using quarts. Estimate how much you drink in a month
using gallons. Use that number to estimate how much you drink in a year using gallons. Is it enough to
fill a bathtub? A swimming pool?
6. Pick a baseball team and record their scores for ten consecutive games. Write down how many wins and
how many losses there were for the team you picked. How many total runs were scored for the team you
picked?
7. Find out which player is leading in the batting title for the American League in Major League Baseball.
What is his average? How many more hits does the leader have over the player in second place?
8. During one hour of TV how much time is devoted to the program itself? How much time is used for
commercials? Use a fraction or decimal to express your answer for each question.
CREC Magnet Schools
Vacation Scavenger Hunt
9. How well do you know your own home? Estimate the total number for each of the objects listed below
before you start counting. Then find the exact amount. Was your estimate over or under the actual
answer?
1. Item
2. Estimate
3. Actual
4. Over or Under
Electrical Outlets
Clocks
Windows
Doors
Drawers
Items on the wall
3 Point Questions: Click on the icon for directions for each science activity
1. Fungus Farm: Can we watch fungi grow?
Fungus Farm
Citrus Mummy
2. Citrus Mummy: Can you make a mummy out of an orange?
3. Race Down the Ramp: Will the full or empty object reach the end of the ramp first?
Race Down the
Ramp
4. Does Light Make a Difference?
Do plants grow differently in the dark than they do in sunlight?
Does Light Make a
Difference?
5. Are Birds Picky Eaters? Do birds prefer one type of food over another?
Are Birds Picky
Eaters?
Do different types of birds prefer different foods?
6. Fruit Preserved: Are there things around the house that can act as preservatives?
Fruit Preserved
7. Dancing Raisins: Can raisins both float and sink in a glass of club soda?
Dancing Raisins
8. Is Vitamin E a Fountain of Youth? Can vitamin E slow aging?
Is Vitamin E the
fountain of youth?
9. Does this Make Sense? What will a lemon juice and salt bath do to dull, dirty pennies?
CREC Magnet Schools
Does this make
sense?
Vacation Scavenger Hunt
DUE WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2015
Students must earn 20 total points to receive recognition.
Display all these items in a scrapbook, on a poster board, or any other creative way that you can think of, and
bring your display back to school with you in September. Be sure your display has your name, grade, and your
teacher’s name and school clearly marked. Displays will be showcased in the school. Students with the
appropriate number of items included in their entries will earn a certificate of achievement!
Keep your eyes and ears open this summer and take part in the Vacation Scavenger Hunt! You’ll be surprised
at what you’ll find. Math is all around you!
CREC Magnet Schools
Vacation Scavenger Hunt