Field Trip: Sculpture Garden Scavenger Hunt

I love the Sculpture Garden in downtown Minneapolis. It's so much fun to wander and people watch, especially on a beautiful summer day. The Spoon and Cherry is one of the most photographed landmarks in all of Minnesota. If you do it right, you can take a picture where it looks like you're licking/eating/holding the cherry. Of course, it looks pretty silly to passersby as you contort yourself to get that perfect shot...but at the end, you have a great picture and fun memories! The art in the Sculpture Garden is cool enough on its own, but you can also take part in tours of it offered by the Walker Art Center, located right across the street. A new activity to try this summer is the Sculpture Garden Scavenger Hunt. I'll just let the press release from the Walker tell you about it:

"This summer, the Walker Art Center offers a new way to enjoy the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden with a text message-based Digital Scavenger Hunt. Using a cell phone or smart phone, participants text LETSPLAY to 22771 to receive their first clue based on a Garden artwork. The scavenger hunt is part of the Walker’s summerlong Open Field initiative, an open call to people of all ages to come together to experience the Walker, the outdoors, and culture in new and unique ways. Scavenger Hunt players who successfully answer all seven clues will receive a free treat from the Open Field Bar & Grill by Wolfgang Puck. 

Participants do not need to be in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden to begin their scavenger hunt, however, once the sculpture is identified, the response to the clue is a unique code located on the artwork’s label. Each new clue is sent upon successful identification of the previous sculpture. Clues may be hints as to what a sculpture looks like or the materials used in its creation. The Digital Scavenger Hunt is designed for the novice art lover making it an appealing activity for families with children of all ages. The hunt can be completed in a single visit to the Garden—usually in 30 minutes—but can also be played over several days by continuing the game from a previous visit. The hunt runs through September 5, 2010, when Open Field concludes. 

The Walker’s Digital Scavenger Hunt is free; standard text messaging rates apply."

A picnic in the park would be a perfect addition to your scavenger hunt. I recommend the green hillside right behind the Walker. You get a great view of the Minneapolis skyline, and your kids can have fun rolling down the hill.

I would also suggest going on a Thursday afternoon this summer, then you can take part in the free activities offered at the Walker. I go to their Drawing Club every week and it's a lot of fun. They also have a cabinet that you can check out games and umbrellas from for free! Every week there are different activities you can take part in. It's a great way to spend a sunny afternoon.

The Sculpture Garden is free, but you do have to pay to visit the exhibits at the Walker. There's some street parking by the Sculpture Garden, but Monday-Friday you're only allowed to park there for an hour during the day. I prefer to just pay the few dollars and utilize the Walker's parking ramp. Four dollars isn't a bad trade off for an afternoon of free activities. I don't have to feel rushed and can take my time strolling through the park or finishing my artwork at Drawing Club.


Edit 8/12/10:
My younger brother, Andrew, and I tried the scavenger hunt today. It took us a little less than half an hour, and that was walking slow. There were eight sculptures we had to find, and the clues were pretty easy for us to figure out because we're familiar with the sculpture garden. I suggest exploring the park a little bit before doing the scavenger hunt, although the clues do tell you what direction to go in. Not only do you have to find each sculpture, you also have to find the little plaques that have the code you text to get the next clue. That was the only thing that was hard to find sometimes--the plaques sometimes are right next to the art, but they can also be mounted on a nearby wall with bushes hanging over it. After completing the scavenger hunt, we each got a free lemonade or can of pop from the cafe in the Walker (which was wonderful on a hot, humid day like today!). It was a fun and quick activity to do.