Clues From the Past: Turning Historic Photographs Into a Hotel Scavenger Hunt

Many heritage hotels display historic photographs throughout their lobbies, corridors, restaurants and public spaces. They might show the hotel when it first opened, the surrounding neighbourhood decades ago, notable guests and events, or familiar spaces before they became what they are today. For adults, these photographs can provide a fascinating glimpse into the hotel's past. For children, however, they can easily become part of the background.

Family Translation turns these photographs into invitations to look closer.

By challenging children to search historic photographs for particular people, objects, architectural details and other clues, a passive display becomes an interactive scavenger hunt. Children aren't simply being told about the hotel's history—they are discovering pieces of it for themselves.

Each discovery creates an opportunity to reveal a little more of the story behind the photograph: what the hotel once looked like, how people travelled, what guests wore, how the surrounding neighbourhood has changed, and which parts of the hotel have remained the same.