Explore & More: Did We Survive the Scavenger Hunt?

The room was packed. The sound of fast-talking, anxious voices overpowered the lobby of 500 Seneca and you could barely hear the person next to you. All ages (18+, that is) and types (suits and sneakers) were huddled together, worshiping over a paper map. Playful banter and friendly (maybe?) competition ensued- gearing up to beat out the other in the game. By 5:45pm,  it became a room of salivating wolves.Okay...we're exaggerating- they were happy wolves! It was the Explore & More Children's  Museum Scavenger Hunt! (now known as the Explore & More- the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Children's Museum) The adult day of play event focuses on raising money for Explore & More through a fun hunt around the city of Buffalo. With a team of 4-5 people in one car, you utilize an app that messages trivia and clues as to where you need to go throughout the neighborhoods. This is how you accumulate points to win. So there we were- only 90 minutes to get in as many activities as we could with our friends Tom and Jess: mimic a statue at Albright-Knox, take a selfie with the Chef's sauce can, find the type of bird above City Hall...we strategized as best we could and sometimes found ourselves racing against another team on foot while grabbing pictures and eating food.[wpvideo rRoBMvrn ]We were so pumped to be a sponsor again this year. There are a few reasons we believe in this event:

1. The proceeds go to the new Explore & More which opens Spring 2019 at Canalside. (duh.) The new location is massive (43,000 sq. ft.) and will offer MORE activities, adventure, and education for kids in a centralized location that benefits children in the city and surrounding neighborhood rings. Giving our youth the opportunity to access the museum is beneficial to ALL types of kids and that is one way we can grow happy, healthy, and curious people.
2. We are starting our own family. We want Chloe and any future kids to have a beautiful, well-supported children's museum where they can play and discover new things.
3. Our region grows by new and re-imagined spaces for local residents of the 716 and those coming in to the area for a visit. With both of us being Leadership Buffalo graduates, one top of mind thing we took away from the program was 'Make Buffalo Better'. Isn't that exactly what the museum is going to do? A better city, region, and education for our future?

Enough sappy talk. The point here is the Scavenger Hunt was a HOOT. We cannot wait for next year and to see it double again (which it did in 2018!). If you missed it, that's okay. You'll make it in 2019. For now, consider supporting Explore & More through their new crowdfund campaign to make sure the 'Lighting Buffalo's Imagination' exhibit comes to fruition. (Donate here) Come on and 'play it forward'.Because no matter what our age, we ALL want to get out there and play.[wpvideo 1PwcibFB ]