Game

Easter Story Scavenger Hunt for Church Kids (Printable Clues)

A free Easter story scavenger hunt for church kids. Twelve printable clue cards with KJV verses lead from the triumphal entry to the empty tomb, in any room.

All ages

Easter Story Scavenger Hunt for Church Kids (Printable Clues)

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⬇ 12 clue cards + leader key (PDF) · 3 pages

Free to print and copy for your church, classroom, VBS and home. Please don't resell or re-post our files; link to the page instead.

Ages: Early Elementary (K–2), Upper Elementary (3–5), Preteen (5–6), Whole Family
Time: 20–30 minutes (10 minutes to hide)
Scripture: Matthew 21:9–13; John 13:5–34; Luke 22:19–23:34; Romans 5:8; Matthew 27:60; Matthew 28:6
Bible story: The Triumphal Entry (Palm Sunday)The Last Supper Jesus Dies on the Cross Jesus Is Alive! (The Resurrection)

What you need

The printed cards (pages 2–3)
Scissors
A pencil for the leader
Tape (optional)

Steps

Cut the 12 cards apart on the dashed lines. Keep card 1 to hand out.
Hide card 2, then write its hiding place on the line of card 1. Hide card 3 and write its place on card 2. Keep going to card 12.
Write each hiding place in the leader key so you can help a team that gets stuck.
Give the kids card 1. At each card, one child reads it aloud, then everyone hurries to the next hiding place.
At card 12, everyone runs back and tells the good news, "He is risen!"

An Easter story scavenger hunt that tells the real Easter story as kids run from clue to clue. There are twelve clue cards, and each one has a step of the story and a King James verse. A child reads the card aloud, then everyone hurries to the next hiding place, which the leader has written on the card. The cards go in Bible order, from Jesus riding into Jerusalem to the empty tomb, so by the last card the kids have heard the whole story.

It works in any room: a classroom, a fellowship hall, a church building or a home. Write the hiding places in yourself, so the same printout works every year.

The 12 clues

Jesus rides into Jerusalem (Matthew 21:9)
The house of prayer (Matthew 21:13)
Jesus washes feet (John 13:5)
Love one another (John 13:34)
The Last Supper (Luke 22:19)
Praying in the garden (Luke 22:42)
Peter weeps (Luke 22:62)
Jesus before Pilate (Luke 23:4)
Jesus on the cross (Luke 23:34)
Why Jesus died (Romans 5:8)
Laid in a new tomb (Matthew 27:60)
He is risen! (Matthew 28:6)

The Easter story sets: the lessons, crafts, coloring pages and puzzles for The Triumphal Entry (memory verse Matthew 21:9), The Last Supper (John 13:34), Jesus Dies on the Cross (Romans 5:8) and Jesus Is Alive! (Matthew 28:6) use the same memory verses as cards 1, 4, 10 and 12.

Tips

Hide the cards at kid height and in plain sight for little ones; tuck them away for older kids.
Give every child a turn to read a card aloud.
End together: at card 12, read all of Matthew 28:1–10 from the Easter story in the Bible, then play resurrection bingo or the left right Bible Easter game.

Frequently asked questions

How does an Easter story scavenger hunt work?

The leader hides 12 clue cards and writes the next hiding place on each one. Kids read each card aloud before they look for the next, so the hunt walks through the Easter story in Bible order.

Does it need plastic eggs?

No. The clues are paper cards you can hide anywhere in a classroom, a church building or a home.

How many kids can play?

One team of up to 8 kids, or several teams with one set of cards each. Print each team's set on different colored paper and use different hiding places.