The University of Chicago Scavenger Hunt (or Scav Hunt, colloquially Scav) is an annual four-day team-based scavenger hunt

Scavenger hunt

A scavenger hunt is a game in which the organizers prepare a list defining specific items, using which the participants — individuals or teams — seek to gather all items on the list — usually without purchasing them — or perform tasks or take photographs of the items, as specified...

 held at the University of Chicago

University of Chicago

The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...

, USA, in May.

Overview

The Scav Hunt has been called the largest scavenger hunt in the world. During the Scavenger Hunt, teams compete to acquire items off a list of approximately 300 items, with each item assigned a point value and evaluated by a panel of judges. Items involve performances, construction, arts and crafts, research, travel and finding obscure objects. Lists typically include at least one item that takes place on the University's main quadrangle

Quadrangle (architecture)

In architecture, a quadrangle is a space or courtyard, usually rectangular in plan, the sides of which are entirely or mainly occupied by parts of a large building. The word is probably most closely associated with college or university campus architecture, but quadrangles may be found in other...

s while students are in class, a party on Friday night, a road trip (with its most distant point from campus being 1,000
miles or less), an item encouraging team members to donate blood, and Scavenger Olympics, which includes original games and athletic competitions.

Scav Hunt was founded in 1987 by Chris Straus, who organized the list and judged items with Cassie Scharff, Diane Kelly, Nolan McCarty, and Rick Jeffries. Perhaps the most notable item that has yet been completed was from the 1999 list; a breeder reactor

Breeder reactor

A breeder reactor is a nuclear reactor capable of generating more fissile material than it consumes because its neutron economy is high enough to breed fissile from fertile material like uranium-238 or thorium-232. Breeders were at first considered superior because of their superior fuel economy...

 in a shed was successfully built on the main quadrangle. The item itself was a joke referring to the "Radioactive Boy Scout" David Hahn

David Hahn

David Charles Hahn , also called the "Radioactive Boy Scout" or the "Nuclear Boy Scout", is an American who attempted to build a homemade breeder nuclear reactor in 1994, at age 17. A scout in the Boy Scouts of America, Hahn conducted his experiments in secret in a backyard shed at his mother's...

. The students irradiated thorium

Thorium

Thorium is a natural radioactive chemical element with the symbol Th and atomic number 90. It was discovered in 1828 and named after Thor, the Norse god of thunder....

 with thermal neutrons and observed traces of weapons-grade uranium

Uranium

Uranium is a silvery-white metallic chemical element in the actinide series of the periodic table, with atomic number 92. It is assigned the chemical symbol U. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons...

 and plutonium

Plutonium

Plutonium is a transuranic radioactive chemical element with the chemical symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-gray appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, forming a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibits six allotropes and four oxidation...

.

In 2002, Scav Hunt was the subject of a documentary titled The Hunt. The 2007 Scav Hunt was also the subject of a documentary, Scavengers.

Judges

The Scavenger Hunt committee is a registered student organization at the University of Chicago. The list is compiled by this panel of judges, who also do the majority of preparation for the Hunt and evaluate completed items. The judges begin compiling the list almost immediately after the end of the previous Scav Hunt, and continue to add items throughout the year. Judges, of course, are sworn

Blood brother

Blood brother can refer to one of two things: two males related by birth, or two or more men not related by birth who have sworn loyalty to each other. This is usually done in a ceremony, known as a blood oath, where the blood of each man is mingled together...

 to secrecy of the contents of next year's list.

Those who wish to become judges must submit an application, usually consisting of a sample list and a questionnaire. Applicants passing this first round are then subjected to an interview with the existing judges. Judges are University of Chicago students, and those chosen to join their number are often previous team captains or perennial participants of the hunt. Actual methods of judge selection, however, are kept secret. Usually, fragments of the sample lists of the newly chosen judges are added to next year's list. New judges are generally selected near the end of the calendar year. Judges are appointed for life, but are required to maintain eligibility to join a student organization to remain active.

Judges and those involved in making the list are the members of the Scavenger Hunt Committee known as "Hot Side Hot." Those who help organize Scav Hunt without becoming a judge are known as "Cold Side Cold", whose members are not permitted to know the contents of next year's list or otherwise participate in Hot Side Hot's secretive preparations.

Notable items

• A team member's umbilical cord, to be eaten by that team member. (96 points)
• A real live, breathing elephant
  Elephant
  Elephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...
  
  . (500 points)
• Eat a live bird (in not so few words)
• A breeder reactor built in a shed
  David Hahn
  David Charles Hahn , also called the "Radioactive Boy Scout" or the "Nuclear Boy Scout", is an American who attempted to build a homemade breeder nuclear reactor in 1994, at age 17. A scout in the Boy Scouts of America, Hahn conducted his experiments in secret in a backyard shed at his mother's...
  
  , and the boy scout badge to prove credit was given where boy scout credit was due. (500 points) This item was completed, although the team only came in second place.
• A zeusaphone
  Zeusaphone
  Zeusaphone is a trademarked term for singing Tesla coils, high-frequency, solid state Tesla coil, whose spark discharge is digitally modulated so as to produce musical tones. The high-frequency signal acts in effect as a carrier wave; its frequency is significantly above human-audible sound...
  
  . (300 points)
• A Stradivarius
  Stradivarius
  The name Stradivarius is associated with violins built by members of the Stradivari family, particularly Antonio Stradivari. According to their reputation, the quality of their sound has defied attempts to explain or reproduce, though this belief is controversial...
  
  violin, viola or cello.