Bring your iPhone for SCVNGR hunts around museums and universities

SCVNGR looks like an interesting idea for an iPhone app: It's sort of a virtual scavenger hunt, composed of a series of "challenges" at certain real-life places that are found via the GPS on your iPhone. When the iPhone first released with GPS, the idea of a real-life MMO was something I wanted to see, and while SCVNGR (on the App Store for free) seems targeted more towards exploration than actual gaming, it's definitely something that should get you to exploring your world a little differently.

Lots of organizations have already jumped in to make up some challenges, and this note, about how a few LA museums got their challenges, caught my eye. If you're looking for something fun to do with the family this holiday weekend and want a new iPhone-based twist on the usual museum tour, SCVNGR might be just the thing.

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Source: http://blogs.getty.edu/iris/svngr-hunts-in-l-a-museums/

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SCVNGR looks like an interesting idea for an iPhone app: It's sort of a virtual scavenger hunt, composed of a series of "challenges" at...

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lphchld

Kind of a cool idea. I really dig Gowalla, so I might check this out.

May 29 2010 at 12:38 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

designr

Oh, sure. You just go rooting about in some 5,000 year old Roman funerary urn looking for free Bostonian Burrito coupons and you'll see what happens. You'll see.

May 28 2010 at 3:23 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Justin

Well I've checked it out and I'm not seeing what sets it apart from social check-in apps like foursquare. Everything near me just has "check in" "say something" and "take a photo". Even w/
"silly challenges" like the ones in the promo screencaps I'm not sure I'd use it. If the user community gets some real scavenger hunts (like at museums and such) then it may turn into something.

May 27 2010 at 10:48 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

2 replies to Justin's comment

macserv

This one has fewr vowels in the name. Soon, we wll be free of them forevr.

May 28 2010 at 2:10 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

hmart316

I agree with Justin. Being a geocacher myself, I thought this would be a fun thing to try but it is not nearly as such. I had it find locations around my work at the University of Chicago, and half of the entries are for places that no longer exist anymore. For Example, the hertz rent a car location is now a daycare place. I was hoping that there would be scavenger hunts for the close by Museum of Science and Industry, but nothing came up under a search.

I'll still give it whirl, but I won't be giving up on geocaching anytime soon.

May 28 2010 at 11:51 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Justin

As an avid geocacher this sounds worth checking out.

May 27 2010 at 10:30 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

pacokorn77

Seems like an iPhone-based ARG is just around the corner...

May 27 2010 at 8:27 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply