GREENFIELD — There’s plenty to see and do at the Hancock County 4-H fair this week, but if you need a little help deciding where to start, you can try basing your route on the fair’s scavenger hunt, available through the app GooseChase.
The Indiana Farm Bureau sponsored the app for all state 4-H fairs, through Purdue University Extension offices. Visitors to the fair can download the app and log in through a code available at the fairgrounds exhibit hall. They’ll receive a list of items around the fairgrounds to “hunt” for and submit a photo, along with trivia questions to answer.
“Every day, there’s challenges that drop in,” Purdue Extension education Amber Barks, who helped design the Hancock County hunt, said. “The more people are at the fair, the more they get to play.”
Those returning to the fair to play the scavenger hunt on multiple days can track their progress against other participants via a leaderboard on the app. Prompts that show up on the app on a given day might include finding a horticulture project in the exhibit hall, taking a photo with one of the candidates for fair queen, or even finding one of 4-H’s junior leaders while they roam the fairgrounds dressed in a goose costume.
Each day, the name of a scavenger hunt participant is drawn who will receive a gift card to a local business, like Lincoln Square Pancake House, Libby’s Ice Cream, Bath and Body Works and more. At the end of the fair, Barks said, the person at the top of the leaderboard will receive a special prize.
“We think this is a great opportunity to promote 4-H and get people engaged with the fair,” Barks said.
Thanks to the Farm Bureau, the local extension office has use of the GooseChase app for the next year. Barks said she’s hoping to expand beyond the fair and use the app for future educational opportunities.