March 2024

Aggieland’s secret scavenger hunt

By Andrea Porter


I recently stumbled into the middle of a scavenger hunt on campus – the old-fashioned type with quality riddles. It was my lucky day because I happen to be a huge fan of scavenger hunts. Not the cheesy kind with all-too-obvious clues, but the ones that require contextual knowledge and cunning problem solving.

I found myself embroiled in the hunt as my dad, an avid geocacher, was searching for a geocache around one of the campus buildings. For those unfamiliar, geocaching involves using GPS and an app to find hidden containers called caches scattered abundantly around the world. As Dad and I scoured the area around the designated GPS coordinates, we stumbled across this small plaque.

1000010032-Andrea-Porter.jpg

The destination of this clue is obvious, but finding the plaque is not as easy, especially in certain seasons, though thousands walk by it every day. Such was the case with the clue we found; it was VERY well hidden. I’ve included a picture of its location if you care to look for it using this as your clue.

1000010033-Andrea-Porter.jpg

I found clue 9 and know the location of 10 but haven’t been able to look for the next plate when foot traffic is low. The hunt’s organizers seemed to relish placing them in inconspicuous spots, ensuring that participants looked rather odd scouring the area while others went about their daily routines.

One concern lingers: how to find where the hunt starts. Online searches lent no help. My only hope is that the 12th stop will loop me back to the beginning. (I think it’s safe to assume there are 12 stops.) Wherever it ends, I can only hope it will lead me back to the beginning so I can experience the full adventure. Or if know the scavenger hunt’s origin, please share it with me!

My kudos and thanks to the person that designed it.

About the Author

image of author Andrea Porter

Andrea Porter

Andrea Porter is currently living her dream as an Interdisciplinary Engineering PhD student at Texas A&M University. Prior to taking a sabbatical from her career, Andrea spent ten years as Director of Extended Studies at West Texas A&M University. She enjoys spending time with her husband Jensen, exercising, mentoring younger women, sewing, and as a lifelong learner, sitting in class.

Read more by this Author

Related Content

Explore Grad Aggieland

News

Texas A&M Hosts Young Scientists from Around the U.S. Selected to Attend 2025 Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings

Texas A&M University hosted a preparatory workshop for 27 young chemistry scholars selected to attend the 2025 Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings in Germany. This initiative aims to inspire and connect these promising scientists with Nobel laureates and introduce them to research opportunities at Texas A&M.

View All News
Blog

Fifty Shades of May

As the clock ticks down on my time in Aggieland and I write this, my final blog after writing for five years, I hope that May surprises me.

View All Blogs
Defense Announcement

Assessing soil functional recovery on a recently rewilded Fly Ash Deposit

View All Defense
Announcements