Scavenger Hunt To Send NYC History Lovers On 2-Borough Search

NEW YORK, NY — New York City history buffs will be able to show off their local knowledge next month in a massive scavenger hunt that will raise money for an East Harlem museum dedicated to studying the city's history, present and future.

The Museum of the City of New York expects at least 200 people to participate in its "Keys to the City Scavenger Hunt" on May 4, Executive Director Whitney Donhauser said. The hunt will cost $50 to register and teams of three to ten people will use clues to find locations in Lower Manhattan and Downtown Brooklyn before returning to the East Harlem museum for a party.

"It’s kind of tapping into the fact that we know New Yorkers love their own history and we also know that they love to be competitive," Donhauser told Patch.

The scavenger hunt was developed by the museum's public programs department, which spent weeks developing a set of clues and testing them on other staff departments at the museum, Donhauser said.

The museum has organized scavenger hunts in the past, but Keys to the City is expected to be the most wide-ranging hunt the museum has ever put on. Donhauser told Patch that she hopes the fundraiser can become an annual event that will help raise money to cover the museum's operating costs as well as its school programs that host more than 54,000 students and teachers each year.

"Our hope is that this ends up being an annual event where [the museum] can get people to learn more about our programs and think about a way that they can support the museum while having a fun challenging outing with their friends," Donhauser said.

Prospective scavenger hunters can register for the event on the Museum of the City of New York's website through the end of April. The team that wins the hunt will be awarded a free private tour an after-hours reception at the museum. Other prizes such as Alvin Ailey dance tickets will also be awarded to teams that finish toward the top of the standings.

The Musem of the City of New York is located on Fifth Avenue between East 103rd and 104th streets and is visited by more than 300,000 guests each year, museum officials said.