Stuyvesant Freshman Caucus Hosts Easter Egg Scavenger Hunt

The Stuyvesant Freshman Caucus hosted an Easter Egg Scavenger Hunt after 10th  period on April 3 that took place on the second, third, and fourth floors. The event was open to all freshman students. Participants searched for Easter eggs that event coordinators had hidden by solving various riddles and performing challenges to retrieve them. Participants could also win eggs by deciphering hints for other locations and taking selfies at these spots. For those who did not wish to participate in the hunt, Freshman Caucus Co-Presidents Cayla Chew and Vanna Lei created an egg-painting activity on the fourth floor. Of the 300 eggs bought for this event, 12 were used for painting.

The idea of an Easter egg scavenger hunt was generated by one of Chew and Lei’s campaign managers, freshman Sofia Lawrence, during their campaigning period, but official planning started two weeks before the event. Multiple members of the Freshman Caucus were involved in successfully organizing the event. “I created a planning doc in which we worked out logistics of the event, […] what [participants] of the event would have to do, how prizes would be distributed, and possible hints to use for the eggs,” Freshman Caucus Events Director Lily Wagman said.

In addition to planning the event, organizers packed Easter eggs with a variety of treats on the day of the scavenger hunt. “We filled each egg with a piece of candy, a Jolly Rancher, and a toy. We then stuck numbered stickers on each egg to keep track of how many were being handed out,” Wagman said.

On the day of the scavenger hunt, one to two caucus members and/or directors were assigned to a secret “hidden” spot on each of the three floors. There, they waited for passersby to collect their eggs. “I was [...] on the second floor near the balcony, so when people came to me, I gave them puzzles and challenges. Based on how they performed on those, I gave them eggs,” Freshman Caucus Chief of Staff Solomon Binyaminov said.

Challenges included solving riddles, Stuyvesant-based trivia questions, and more. “They gave us a task to do, [like] five push-ups or sing us a song, and once your entire team did the task we got eggs,” freshman Sophia Lin said. Participants could also receive eggs by being the first to take pictures at various locations according to hints provided by the caucus.

A competitive aspect was also introduced to the scavenger hunt, where the team who collected the most eggs won a puzzle set. The winning team, composed of freshmen Evelyn Liu, Tony Chen, Colin Lien, Naomi Hsieh, Rachel Wang, and Zody Yen, won by a landslide, gathering a total of 72 eggs. The group that placed second obtained 39 eggs.

While the event was ultimately successful, there were some issues with communication among the organizers. “Since everyone was busy giving out eggs and [had their own] specific job, it was [...] hard to communicate with each other. When someone runs out of eggs, it could take about five to 10 minutes for someone else to bring them new eggs or for people to find out they needed more eggs,” Binyaminov said.

These issues created confusion for participants, who were unsure of the scavenger hunt’s rules. “I did feel like the event was a bit disorganized, and at first, I didn’t quite understand the instructions of how to find the eggs or take pictures of certain areas to gain eggs either,” Lin said.

Additionally, some attendees found issues with the prizes that were offered. “The prizes for obtaining the most eggs could [have been] better. Instead of a puzzle set, maybe the winning groups [could have won] an electronic device, gift cards, [or] stuffed animals,” freshman Sophie Zhao said.

However, most participants were enthused by their competitive Stuyvesant spirit, which the event brought out. “The competitive aspect made the event more fun because there was this rush to be the first to get the eggs at each location. That competitiveness is what drives Stuyvesant students,” Chin said.

Other participants enjoyed answering riddles and having fun with friends. “My favorite part of the event was running around with my friends to look for the student leaders with eggs. I found it extremely fun to complete the tasks given to us like guessing the riddle, Königsberg bridge problem, and saying biology pickup lines to try to entertain the leaders,” Lin said.

Overall, the scavenger hunt was well-received by its participants, especially due to the social interaction it provided. “My favorite part of this event was taking random selfies at random locations with other people around and asking janitors if they saw any lurking caucus members,” Zhao said. “The activities are funny and you can enjoy them with friends to have a memorable experience. I would rate my overall experience as an eight out of 10 [and] would definitely be interested in participating in similar events.”

As the school year nears its end, Chew and Lei aim to ensure that students’ freshman year is a memorable one by beginning organizational plans for other major events. Following the positive reception of the scavenger hunt, the Freshman Caucus currently has more engaging events in the works. “The [freshman] body has many events [to] look forward to, including the carnival and a freshman dance,” Chew said in an e-mail interview.