My 3-year-old recently discovered that bugs are the most fascinating things on the planet. “Ant! Ant!” “It’s a wittle butterfry.” So, naturally we needed to search for more. That’s where Mike Bennett’s free, Summer Scavenger Hunt Series came in.
In his signature goofy style, the Portland artist created and posted colorful cutouts of animals, fish, insects and birds, and placed them on the front windows of local businesses in five Portland-area locales: Downtown, SE Division, Pittock Mansion, Bridgeport Village and Multnomah Village (there’s also one in Bend). The hunts run now through Labor Day on September 7. I loved that it’s free and toddler friendly, and it also gave us an opportunity to explore a new neighborhood.
Getting Ready for the Scavenger Hunt
I chose Multnomah Village on purpose. While it was one of the farther locations from our house, the search area was compact enough for our search party: a six-month pregnant adult and a toddler with a short-attention span and little legs. But equally important, Multnomah Village is home to some real gems of local businesses (and repeat PDX Parent Reader Favorites to boot), so I knew that there would be fun places for us to visit. And there were the bugs, of course. The Multnomah Village scavenger hunt featured nine insects like a ladybug, bumble bee and praying mantis, as well as invertebrates like a snail, slug and earth worm. For a first scavenger hunt with a toddler, this was the ideal trifecta.
Before we left the house, I downloaded and printed out two copies of the hunt sheet PDF so we’d each have one. (He studied his on the drive over.) Pro tip: You have to add the hunt sheet to your cart and check out to get the PDF, and remember it’s free, so no credit card needed. You can also go digital by scanning the QR code next to the animal each time you spot one so your discovery logs automatically. Each hunt comprises nine animals and there’s a handy map showing the streets where Bennett’s cutouts can be found.
Searching in Multnomah Village
We hit the sidewalk on an overcast Wednesday morning, ready to search and explore. My son enjoyed the hunting part almost as much as he loved everything in between. We ducked into Thinker Toys and he naturally wanted to buy every truck, car and puzzle he laid his eyes on. Pro tip: While you’ll find the scavenger hunt cut outs on the outside front window of participating businesses, give yourself time to pop in and support these places — it’s part of the fun. Village Kids Supply Co. earned a long browse, too. My son looked at the gently used Hot Wheels while I perused their selection of newborn clothes. And Annie Bloom’s Books gave us a quiet, cozy pause to flip through picture books before heading back outside. Half the joy of this hunt was simply wandering. We had a reason to walk slowly, poke into shops we might have otherwise skipped, and let a toddler set the pace.
Every time we spotted one of the illustrated bugs, my son would run up the window, point at the colorful cutouts (the ladybug was his favorite) and I’d mark off the business name on my sheet. He was delighted by each find. My competitive streak came out, which meant we didn’t leave until we found them all. But we didn’t rush. That’s the beauty of a hunt like this: there’s no clock or registration fee on the line. If you don’t finish, come back the next day. And when you’ve found all nine, head to one of Mike Bennett’s locations to get a free prize. We went to Wonderwood Springs Cafe the next day and my son was excited to pick out his small prize.