The Big Egg Hunt in London (Fabergé) was launched on Shrove Tuesday, which fell toward the end of February this year, and over 200 eggs will be on display for forty days and forty nights in various areas across the city. The event is attempting to break world record for the largest egg hunt as well as to raise money for charity; the Elephant Family are one of the charities (Action for Children is another), and the Elephant Family charity did work for London a couple of years ago with elephant sculptures, which I blogged about on this website here: Parading Artistic Elephants in London.
I've been looking forward to this event since I first read about it in the middle of February. This time, the event is more interactive than the elephant event, although I felt that the Bristol Gorillas had a much better application to allow you to discover the gorillas on maps and post images/mark them off if you were in range.
The London "Big Egg Hunt" seems geared more at hiding the eggs, and rough clues are given to pinpoint the rough location of each egg. This also includes a 'roaming' egg, which is designed and painted to look like the Where's Wally (in America, Where's Waldo) character. The event seems to be very popular with many other families and friends out and about in London, loaded with maps and cameras to discover the eggs. This event has been well-received, although a few of the eggs have been damaged and stolen.
Finders can scan QR Codes at the egg's location across twelve various 'zones' or areas in London, which sends a donation to the charities. The text message enters the finder into a drawing to have a chance to win a golden egg as a prize. As the eggs have been designed by local artists and companies, this is a perfect way to get the majority interested in the arts, culture, and charity.
The company Fallon (http://www.fallon.co.uk/) have created the zone maps, which I think look very well-designed. There was also supposed to be a mobile application, but this has not been released due to technical issues (29 February). However, there is a 'cheatsheet' map that can be viewed in case you get stuck, but some of the eggs aren't in the correct positions, and you're unable to zoom in too far. Below is a screen shot of one of the 'zone' maps.
I love the combination of art and technology used in events, such as The Big Egg Hunt. In addition, there is an egg to locate, known as the "Social Egg" in Selfridges, and this egg displays a screen with faces of finders on it. The egg has been created by 'faceboarding', and it allows users to 'check in' to the device, and the device displays the images on its screen. (Pretty cool.) I've posted the "Social Egg" below.
I have been spending the past few weeks tracking down the eggs, and I have found most of them now. Another post will be added soon to display some of the most beautiful eggs. For those of you that I have seen and spoken to during my London egg hunting, I want to say "hello" and "happy hunting".
Leave a comment