We just wrapped up our study of conic sections, which can be a pretty dry topic. So to liven things up, I had my precalculus students go on a scavenger hunt. These days, everyone has either a digital camera or phone with a camera, so everybody could participate. Here is the handout I gave them outlining the rules:
Conics Hide and Seek
Names____________________________________
Math is all around us, and in this activity, you are going to find some places where it is hiding. We have finished our study of conic sections (parabolas, circles, ellipses, and hyperbolas), so it’s time to have a scavenger hunt! Using your phone or digital camera, you and a partner will explore the campus and take a picture of at least one example of each type of conic. The team with the most points will get a prize. You are on your honor not to share your finds with other teams.
Here’s how many points each type of conic is worth:
Circle: 1 pt (maximum of 5 examples)
Ellipse: 2 pts
Parabola: 3 pts (remember, a parabola is not the same as a “U”!)
Hyperbola: 5 pts
You can submit your photos via email. Happy hunting!
They spent more than half of an 80-minute block combing the campus for examples of conics. Did this activity involve rigorous mathematics? No, but it was a lot of fun for the girls, and it opened their eyes to some of the ways math can describe the world around them. When we reviewed the teams’ submissions, there was a lot of discussion about whether certain shapes actually were parabolic, or ellipsoid, etc. All in all, a very useful activity.
Here is a sampler of the best submissions. The winning team took over 100 photos!
FracTad's Fractopia 
hi, can I use your activity scavengers hunt in my class?
Absolutely, Remedios. That’s why I post these ideas – so other teachers can use them and improve on them.