The number 2000 is large in and of itself; it's fear inducing when quantifying the acres of unknown campus you're supposed to somehow decipher and navigate for the next four years of your life. New students of the University of Florida are faced with a difficult task when it comes to learning the ins and outs of the 8.1 square kilometer labyrinth, but they certainly aren't left to fend for themselves-- the RAs of the Murphree Area were determined to provide their residents with the knowledge and resources they would need to start the Summer B term, and their college careers, on the right foot.

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The scavenger hunt was designed to help residents adapt to their new campus environment and to make them aware of the resources available to them. In order to give the participants an effectively educational experience without risking time inefficiency, we opted to limit the scavenger hunt list to 15 locations: five within the Murphree Area and 10 across campus. The planning team spent the better part of an hour determining which locations to feature. The result was a diverse selection of structures and areas across campus that we identified as being iconic, of academic importance or of particular significance to first year students. Selections for the Murphree Area locations included regularly utilized facilities, e.g. the Fletcher Library, package pick-up, laundry room, ice machine and mail room.

On the day of the program the RAs gathered their residents to meet in the Murphree Commons, a central location that is familiar to all residents of the area. We requested that there be teams of six members, but we allowed the residents to divide themselves; thus, small groups of friends were able to retain the comfort of familiarity while still branching out and meeting new people. After being given a few minutes to become acquainted with their teammates the teams were given verbal instructions on rules and safety. We prohibited the use of vehicles (including bicycles, public transportation, cars, etc.) in order to eliminate speeding hazards during the fast-paced competition. Furthermore, we made sure to give the participants resources that could aid them in case they lost their sense of direction or needed immediate assistance. All participants were requested to enter into their cell phones the numbers for the Murphree Area desk and Student Nighttime Auxiliary Patrol (S.N.A.P.). Teams were given the ability to call the desk during the competition for directional assistance to one scavenger hunt site if they were unable to find it using the provided campus map. S.N.A.P., the student transportation system hosted by the university's police department, runs nightly beginning at 8:30 p.m. and will transport students to and from any on campus location. Residents were directed to use S.N.A.P. to return to the area if they were to miss the one hour competition deadline or if they became lost.

After receiving the information, teams were released to begin the scavenger hunt. The competition lasted for one hour and was followed by an ice cream social. All residents, including those who chose not to join the hunt, were welcome to meet and mingle. The exhausted winners were presented with Gator folders to celebrate their success.

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First year and transfer students have only five days to move in, get settled and be ready to make it to their classes for the first day of the Summer B term—and that’s only if they move in when Century Tower sings noon on Opening Day. The majority of our residents opted to spend their last few days of summer at home, leaving them at a potential disadvantage when it came to learning their new environment and immersing themselves in their communities. Knowledge and inclusiveness are privileges that can have a grave impact on a student’s success, socially and academically. Thus, we chose to focus on leveling the privilege playing field in our Campus NaviGATOR Scavenger Hunt.

Our primary focus was on providing environmental knowledge and resource awareness. We wanted participants to walk away from the scavenger hunt with not only an idea of the layout of campus but an understanding of the purposes and histories behind iconic and frequented structures. An additional goal was to make residents aware of and comfortable with available informational/assistive resources, such as the area desk, the campus map and the Student Nighttime Auxiliary Patrol (S.N.A.P.). Area-wide community building was the program’s secondary focus/goal.

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The Campus NaviGATOR Scavenger Hunt made the generally dull and difficult task of learning a new environment a positive and memorable experience. When you are told how to do something, you may forget the directions with the passing of time; when you pioneer the trail, solving the problem for yourself, you truly become a master of the task. Our participants were left to explore and navigate with only a campus map and the problem-solving abilities of their team members. This required them to find the locations on their own, leaving them with a knowledge of campus that will not fade.

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We planned the Campus NaviGATOR Scavenger Hunt with several goals in mind: generating knowledge of the campus environment, increasing resource awareness and engendering a sense of community within the Murphree Area population. The end product was a highly successful program that met all of our goals and exceeded our expectations. Many of the teams utilized the area desk resource, and they were able to effectively use the gathered information in order to reach their destinations. Almost all of the participants stayed to acquaint and celebrate at the post-hunt ice cream social, and their comments were strikingly positive. Feedback ranged from animated discussion of the quickest cross-campus routes to simple, exhausted smiles. Reactions such as these stick securely in memory; the most memorable moment, however, was when one sweat-soaked resident offered, “I'm really glad you made us come to this. We weren’t going to come, but then you told us that it would help. I feel like I really learned where things are.”

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The beauty of this program is that it is readily adaptable to suit the needs of other campuses. Program facilitators would simply need to identify the key landmarks within the campus and/or area and write short descriptions/histories for the scavenger hunt list. Any school paraphernalia could be used for prizes, allowing budget flexibility.

Additionally, this program can be furthered by requiring participants to utilize various campus resources. For example, program facilitators could include activities such as riding a campus bus, using the college/university web mail service, visiting the student health care center, etc. on the scavenger hunt list.

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