Scoot
We came across Scoot in a brochure that we picked up in July, and the basic concept sparked our interest enough that we marked the date in our calendar. It turned out that there have been several earlier Scoot games (including an earlier 1-day event at Melbourne's Federation Square), but this was the biggest ...
Scoot was run over 3 days (16 - 18 September) and was basically along the lines of a large (SMS-based) scavenger hunt. It was played at three main public sites in Melbourne and teams had to register at each of the venues on a computer terminal. The teams then had to follow a series of clues, and send the answer by SMS. If the answer was correct then there would be a new question, and so teams were led around each of the venues. Sometimes the answer had to be found in the surrounds - and sometimes it was found by tackling an interactive game. And at the end of it all there were a range of online games that provided some bonus points.
With our youngest team member having just turned 4, we decided to tackle the game at a gentle pace. We played some Scoot on each day, which made for an extended series of outings - just a great way to start the school holidays!
We met several of the Scoot team at each of the game sites, and fortunately they took some photos of the action because we ended up too engrossed in the game! These include several snaps of our group, Team Obie.
On the first day of the game we started at the State Library of Victoria, which was our favourite stage. We hadn't been through the building extensively since the Library/Museum split, and Scoot took us on a wonderful tour of the grand building.
After lunch we headed down to Federation Square and did the stage there, which included a short interlude in the National Gallery of Victoria - Australia. The NGV Australia section was perhaps disappointingly short, but leaves plenty of scope for another game!
There was a side trip from the Fed Square stage down to the Arts Centre, so we wandered down to have a look. However it was getting too late so we only did a couple of questions. We then returned on Sunday afternoon and wandered around the Arts Centre at our own pace. After completing the Arts Centre we had time to start getting the hang of the Scoot online games.
Our last venue was the Melbourne Museum, so we all headed there on the Monday. There's so much to see that a game like Scoot can only touch a few items, but some of these were very well chosen. It's clear that the museum has plenty of scope for some full-day or even multi-day Scoot exploration.
So what was our general opinion? Mum and Dad enjoyed ourselves, and we were particularly delighted with the SLV tour. The boys had a great time doing the tours and interactive games. They also enjoyed the online Scoot games, with each of the children able to find some games that were a good level.
Thanks very much to the QUT and ACMI people who were involved - top job. It can be hard to structure questions and games at the right level for children with a range of ages, but in the end the best test is to try it out and watch them. Our kids thought it was great, and have gone on to tell plenty of their friends all about it!
Scoot was run over 3 days (16 - 18 September) and was basically along the lines of a large (SMS-based) scavenger hunt. It was played at three main public sites in Melbourne and teams had to register at each of the venues on a computer terminal. The teams then had to follow a series of clues, and send the answer by SMS. If the answer was correct then there would be a new question, and so teams were led around each of the venues. Sometimes the answer had to be found in the surrounds - and sometimes it was found by tackling an interactive game. And at the end of it all there were a range of online games that provided some bonus points.
With our youngest team member having just turned 4, we decided to tackle the game at a gentle pace. We played some Scoot on each day, which made for an extended series of outings - just a great way to start the school holidays!
We met several of the Scoot team at each of the game sites, and fortunately they took some photos of the action because we ended up too engrossed in the game! These include several snaps of our group, Team Obie.
On the first day of the game we started at the State Library of Victoria, which was our favourite stage. We hadn't been through the building extensively since the Library/Museum split, and Scoot took us on a wonderful tour of the grand building.
After lunch we headed down to Federation Square and did the stage there, which included a short interlude in the National Gallery of Victoria - Australia. The NGV Australia section was perhaps disappointingly short, but leaves plenty of scope for another game!
There was a side trip from the Fed Square stage down to the Arts Centre, so we wandered down to have a look. However it was getting too late so we only did a couple of questions. We then returned on Sunday afternoon and wandered around the Arts Centre at our own pace. After completing the Arts Centre we had time to start getting the hang of the Scoot online games.
Our last venue was the Melbourne Museum, so we all headed there on the Monday. There's so much to see that a game like Scoot can only touch a few items, but some of these were very well chosen. It's clear that the museum has plenty of scope for some full-day or even multi-day Scoot exploration.
So what was our general opinion? Mum and Dad enjoyed ourselves, and we were particularly delighted with the SLV tour. The boys had a great time doing the tours and interactive games. They also enjoyed the online Scoot games, with each of the children able to find some games that were a good level.
Thanks very much to the QUT and ACMI people who were involved - top job. It can be hard to structure questions and games at the right level for children with a range of ages, but in the end the best test is to try it out and watch them. Our kids thought it was great, and have gone on to tell plenty of their friends all about it!
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