PHS students create community scavenger hunts

Students in Mrs. Stacey Littleton’s creative writing class at Perryville High School have partnered with Perry County Heritage Tourism to creative a series of scavenger hunts based on local landmarks and attractions.
The scavenger hunts will be promoted through the Perry County Heritage Tourism Office to provide fun activities for local families and visitors to the community. Each scavenger hunt will be accessed through a QR Code so participants can follow it on their mobile device. The QR Codes will be published in the Dec. 28 issue of The Republic-Monitor on the District 32 pages.
“Our scavenger hunt focuses on activities for teens,” said student Hailey Easton, who worked with classmates Adrian Garris and Savannah Lukefahr. “We researched and included facts about locations like Perry Park Center, the bowling alley, and T-Road Sports.” Adrian added, “We started with the places we are familiar with and then did additional research and included other places, too.”
Mrs. Littleton said that the students have created informational presentations for each scavenger hunt which also include challenges like posting selfies, answering trivia questions, or taking photos of landmarks to share on social media. “The scavenger hunts will help visitors more fully enjoy visits to our community,” she said. “The original idea was to have things to do for families who visit us in April for the Solar Eclipse, but the scavenger hunts will be enjoyable for everyone.”
Students Kaden Laurentius and Landen Nuyt focused on outdoor activities. “We highlight Perry County Lake and Legion Lake,” Kaden said. “We went off of stuff we like to do ourselves.” Landen added, “We also included the Seminary because it has beautiful walking trails, and also areas like the Ball Mill Resurgence Natural Area.”

Students Kenzie Weinkein and Marilisa Lopez-Herrera created a scavenger hunt that will take participants on a search for historical buildings downtown. “We included downtown locations and then other significant historical locations like Ewald’s BBQ, Rozier’s, and Park-Et,” Kinzie said.
Erin Holly and Taylor Greer were interested in the new murals and sculptures. “Our scavenger hunt is a walking tour of the seven sculptures located around the city as well as the murals,” Erin said. “The retro mural across from the post office is our favorite.” One of the challenges is for participants to take a photo of their reflection on one of the sculptures.
Josie Lohmann and Joseph Foster created a hunt that features Perry County’s tourist destinations. “We included Missouri’s National Veterans Memorial, Old Appleton Bridge, the Lindbergh Flight historical marker, and the Saxon Lutheran Memorial,” Joseph said.
“Trish Erzfeld, the director of the tourism office, and I are very impressed with the work the students have done,” Mrs. Littleton said. “We couldn’t be more pleased with their efforts. They have created something special for the community. We hope that lots of families have a chance over Christmas break to try the scavenger hunts when they get the QR Codes in the newspaper.”
The QR Codes will also be available on the Perry County Heritage Tourism website at https://visitperrycounty.com/.