Looking for a fun app to keep your child entertained at a restaurant, museum, on a road trip, and more? Check out Monkey Spot Scavenger Hunts, a fun app to help children engage with their surroundings! Monkey Spot Scavenger Hunts puts a twist on the classic scavenger hunt and brings it to your phone or device.
The scavenger hunts within this app encourage children to explore, perform, and have conversations with people. The developer’s privacy policy mentions how you may want to talk with your child about “when it’s okay to take pictures of other people and when to talk to strangers.” It also encourages adults to get in on the fun as well by talking about different ways to solve clues!
The app offers seven FREE scavenger hunts ideal for a variety of environments:
- Out to Eat (ideal for restaurants)
- Art Museum Adventure (ideal for art museums and galleries)
- Everyday Science (great for adventure around town, neighborhood, or at the park)
- Backseat Driver (ideal for road trips and trips around town)
- I Can See A to Z (great for adventures around town, neighborhood, or at the park)
- This is Me (for fun at home)
- Detective Story (for fun at home)
I went ahead and downloaded the app to check it out. When you open it up, you’ll notice many different hunts to choose. So to begin, select which one you’d like to do. 
Since I am at work, I felt the “This Is Me” scavenger hunt was appropriate. Upon selecting, you’ll see a list of clues you need to find. You can click on any clue in the list, then it will prompt you to take a picture of that clue and tell about what’s in the picture.
My example is “My Breakfast” (featuring the oh-so-necessary cup of coffee!)
If you need a hint on what to do, simply select the question mark on the bottom left and it’ll give you ideas (e.g. What are you eating for breakfast today?). Once you take a picture and add text, just select the yellow Clue List to return and continue to choose and fill out different clues.
Once you finish each scavenger hunt, you can play all of the images as a slideshow. You can also save the images to your camera roll as well. To make it even more interactive, you can share the images with friends and family!
There are no ads in the app, making it totally kid-friendly. However, additional hunts are available for purchase through the App Store, with new hunts being added every month.
- Backyard Nature
- My Hidden Pictures
- Go Go Grocery Store
- Airport Explorer
- Playground Challenge
- Beach Day
- Look in a Book
- In a Crowd
The app is currently available now for the iPad and iPhone, with an Android version coming soon.