Old Independence Selfie Scavenger Hunt

Are you looking for a fun, educational experience for your child this summer but don’t know where to start? Do you want to see more of our beautiful region but need a reason to get out? Old Independence Regional Museum has the solution! The “Old Independence Selfie Scavenger Hunt” launches June 1 at the museum. “Every summer we receive call after call asking ‘What is there to do for kids?’” said Humanities Educator Amelia Bowman, “after years of not having an answer, we came up with our own!”The scavenger hunt is open to anyone 18 and under and requires a $10 registration fee per child or $25 for a family. Participants will receive a booklet with 24 locations, 2 in each of OIRM’s represented counties, with a picture and a brief history of the location.

DSC_3001 imageAt each location, contestants will take a selfie and post it to the museums Twitter @OIRM1820 using the hashtags #OIRM1820, #SelfieScavenger2016, and/or #ExperienceIndependence or on Facebook @Old Independence Regional Museum.Locations vary from water towers and bridges, to churches and museums. “We wanted to provide a diversity of places for people to visit and not just other museums,” added Bowman. Many of the locations have some sort of unique historical aspect to make things more interesting, such as George’s Creek tri-level bridge.Contestants have until June 31 to post their selfies. Participants will be entered to win a small gift basket after visiting 12 locations and a large basket after visiting all 24 locations. A grand prize will be given for the most creative selfie (please keep them safe and appropriate). On August 1, the museum will host a reception for all contestants with refreshments and door prizes, drawings for the gift baskets, and grand prize award.This humanities program is made possible by local support from Independence County and the City of Batesville, as well as by Challenge Grant Endowment funding from the National Endowment of the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Old Independence serves a 12-county area: Baxter, Cleburne, Fulton, Independence, Izard, Jackson, Marion, Poinsett, Sharp, Stone, White, and Woodruff. Parts of these present-day counties comprised the original Independence County in 1820s Arkansas territory.
The museum is open Tuesday-Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Admission is $3.00 for adults, $2.00 for seniors and $1.00 for children. The museum is located at 380 South 9th street, between Boswell and Vine Streets in Batesville. During your visit, stop by our gift shop. We stock many items from local artists, authors, and crafters, as well as historical toys and games.