Creation Story Photo Scavenger Hunt Workshop

Summary of Lesson Activities:

Children will participate in a Creation Scavenger Hunt with volunteers and their cellphones to photograph examples of things from each "day" of God’s Creation Story from Genesis 1:1-2:3.

Scripture References:

Genesis 1:1-2:2

Memory Verse:
Genesis 1:1

Leader Preparation:

• Read the Background Information and lesson plan.
• Gather necessary supplies for the lesson. Borrow several volunteers who have fully-charged cellphones.
• Make copies of the scavenger hunt list.
• Copy the scavenger hunt list and divide into several shorter lists.
• Make sure you have the proper connecting cables so that you can view the photos on a large TV or monitor from the cellphones.

Supplies List:

• List of scavenger hunt items – one copy for each child or team of children
• Enough volunteers and their cellphones for 3 students per group.
  
  Update: Depending on the age of your students and circumstances, you may have a number of kids in your class who own their own cellphones. Check with their parents ahead of time and encourage them to bring them.
  
  Update 2: Give each "photographer" your email or phone number so they can SEND PHOTOS to you as they take them -- so that you or your techie can drag and drop them into a slideshow on your desktop. (Most laptops have a photo app that allows you to play photos in slideshow mode).

Lesson Plan

Opening:

Welcome all children and take their photos as they arrive. Start the lesson by explaining what they'll be doing and learning about today.

Introduce the Story:

Today’s story is about a Creator and the beginning of a creation. Who is our awesome Creator? (God) Since the very beginning of time, people looked into the night sky and wondered. They wondered about the moon, that bright object that changed shapes....sometimes round, sometimes just a little tiny sliver in the sky. They wondered about the rich, deep, darkness that stretched all around them, as far as they could see. They wondered about the tiny sparkling dots of light sprinkled in that velvety darkness. They wondered about it all.

What did it all mean? "And deep down inside themselves, in a quiet, still space, they knew—knew with all their hearts, and souls, and minds, that something more powerful than people was responsible for the velvety darkness, the softly glowing moon, and the glittering, shimmering stars."  (adapted from “My Life and Creation,” Exploring L.I.F.E., Joyce Brown, Cokesbury, The United Methodist Publishing House, 2004)

Do you ever wonder why the sky is blue? What makes kittens so cuddly? Why dogs bark?

Do you know where we find the story of the “beginnings” of the world?  We find it in the very beginning of the Bible! The first book of the Bible is called Genesis. Genesis means beginnings.

Let’s find it in our Bibles now and read the story.

Discussion

1. What does Genesis mean?…. (beginning)
2. Who created the earth and the universe?  (God)
3. What did God create?  (heavens and earth, all things in it)
4. WHY do you think God created the Universe and all of us?  (Was he lonely? bored? creative? joyful? inquisitive?)
5. What is your favorite part of God's Creation?

Photo Scavenger Hunt

Say: Today we are going to focus on some of the wonderful things God created. We are going to go outside on a scavenger hunt – looking for things God created. Using various cellphones that our leaders have, when you find something on our list, you will take a photo of it and we'll view it when you come back.

You have 20 minutes max to photograph as many things on the list as you can!   

Adjust the time to suit your needs. If taking photos of "something that represents each day of Creation in scripture" they may need some extra help or time.

Review the Photos!

Quickly go through the photos on each cellphone, letting students shout out what item on the Scavenger List they think it is.  Don't keep score. Use this as a time of affirmation and awe, of point out how wonderful God's world is.

(Have each volunteer email you their photos so you can make a collage for display or a presentation on your church's social media)

Group Selfie and Prayer Closing:

Huddling in a circle to mimic the shape of the earth and all of us on it, take a group selfie!!   Then offer a prayer of thanksgiving, inviting each student to say aloud what they want to thank God for in creation.

Scavenger Hunt Items:

For older children, have them take their Bibles and snap a photo of 2 things from each day of Creation, or that represent what each day is about.  This is a richer activity because for certain "days" they will have to get creative about what to photograph. For example, how will they get a photo of oceans and fish? And how might they 'stage' or represent Day 7's day of rest?

For younger children, give them this simple of list of things to find "in" Creation:

A lesson written by member Jaymie Derden and updated by a member of the Rotation.org Content Team