Hearts Around Hartz Scavenger Hunt

I confess that we haven’t been doing anything this summer. As usual, I have tons of ideas for family fun and kid activities, but it’s been really hard to motivate coming out of a 3 month quarantine! So, when I heard about the Heart Sculpture Exhibit in Downtown Danville, California where I live, I had to create my own printable Hearts Around Hartz Scavenger Hunt!

Hearts Around Hartz

If you are new to the area or haven’t heard of this yet, Hearts Around Hartz is a reference to the heart sculptures that the town of Danville, California has placed around our main downtown street, Hartz Avenue. I got a glimpse of one of these statues last week on one my rare trips out to the store and I had to find out more.

Last summer, the town of Danville placed dog sculptures around town and my kids loved using the provided booklets to search and mark them all off. So when I learned the town was doing it again, but with hearts this time and I couldn’t find my own printable Hearts Around Hartz Scavenger Hunt, I had to create my own! (Of course the day after I published this, I saw the town did put out a printable map! But mine is still great for marking them off as you go!)

Printable Hearts Around Hartz Scavenger Hunt

Last night I prepped my 2 younger kids that we were going out early in the morning this morning to start finding the heart sculptures and that we would even make it extra fun with a printable scavenger hunt to mark them off as we went.

I get that it’s weird I had to prep them that we were going to go out, but since it hasn’t happened much in the last 3 months, they needed a heads-up. They love to spend the mornings all day in their pajamas, so getting dressed and getting off the couch is a big deal these days. I really hope they can slip back in old patterns quickly when we are through this thing. (And please, someone tell me we are going to get through this thing!)

My original plan was for the kids and I to leave early this morning so we could walk around downtown without a lot of people. The last time we tried to take them out, no one had masks on and it was crowded where we were, so we spent the entire time moving out of the way of everyone else! Thankfully now the governor of California has made masks mandatory, so it’s not as much of a worry. All the same, I wanted to head out early.

No surprise, it didn’t happen. I am just a zombie in the mornings (Any other moms love to stay up late?), so I was too tired to form words, let alone drive a car! We ended up leaving the house around 10:30 and in our quaint little town, people were already out and about. It would have been manageable to park and walk to the sculptures while keeping our distance from other people, but my kids jumped at the chance to just drive around and look out the window instead.

This Hearts Around Hartz Scavenger Hunt definitely works for walking around town, driving or a combination of the 2. Some hearts are at the opposite end of town from each other. While the original scavenger hunt I made for us only had the heart locations listed (like the town Website) I decided a map would really help so you can consolidate your trips across town.

I confess I have never made a map with markers on it, so I don’t know if it’s perfect, but I tried! The only thing that may be confusing is the heart near San Ramon Valley High School. The website originally said it was at the “Danville Sign, Entrance to Downtown” but there isn’t an address for that spot and I enter downtown in a different spot, so it was a bit tricky for us to find. I think I put the marker on the map at a restaurant right behind the town of Danville sign/brick wall instead. Hope that helps!

I know the map I included is small, but it was more to give you a general idea of which heart sculptures were near each other or in a specific area of town. I hope it helps you guide you on your journey toward these amazing pieces of art. I don’t want to give anything away if you haven’t seen them yet, but I am definitely going again without my kids so that I can walk up and examine each one. They are so beautiful! If you have seen them, tell me your favorites in the comments below!

I also am hoping to update this printable with a picture version for non-reading kids, but that will require the permission of the city and I haven’t gotten there yet. I also have heard that there will be 3 more hearts added to the exhibit by the end of the month and if so, I will update your freebie!

In order to get your own copy of this Hearts Around Hartz Scavenger Hunt, simply download the PDF below (there is a download icon at the bottom of the embedded PDF).

Hope you and your kids enjoy this easy Shelter-in-Place outing. I am working on a list of other things we can safely do with distance in Danville and in the San Francisco Bay Area, so feel free to share your own ideas and experiences below. It’s a time where we all need to come together and help each other…keep our kids busy! ;)

Looking for ways to keep your kids occupied at home during this Shelter-in-Place? Check out this Summer Box I created for my kids where they play creatively and independently!

Download Printable Scavenger Hunt PDF Below:

Happy Summer to all my fellow local “In the Works” Moms!