Journey through OC history with Aperture Scavenger

Oregon City children and their families will have a chance to learn about the history of their neighborhood while taking part in The Aperture Scavenger project, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, June 27.
PHOTO BY: TOM ROONEY - Taryn is focused on completing one of the photo challenges during the Kenton Aperture Scavenger hunt Oct. 26, 2014, in Kenton.Participants are given a written clue and a visual clue leading them on a historical journey through their neighborhood. Moving from site to site, they are taught bits of history along the way, as well as shown various historic photos, depicting what their neighborhood or town looked like over the years.
“At each scavenger site, they will also be presented with a photo challenge. It would be too easy to have them show up to a location and simply take a picture proving they were there. These photo challenges encourage them to view their world through the lens of a camera, exploring their creativity and unique perspective on the world,” said Tom Rooney, executive director of The Aperture Project, a nonprofit organization that connects children through photography and writing.
Photographers will serve as guides along the route to help with the challenges, Rooney said.
Partners for the event include New Hing’s Restaurant, which donated space and is offering lunch specials to participants; The Museum of the Oregon Territory, which donated photos to the event and will host an exhibit of photos taken by scavenger hunt participants; and the Oregon City Chamber of Commerce.
Fun, family event
Rooney is a photographer, loves history, and finds scavenger hunts to be fun.
“Our team dreamed up an event in which we could teach young people about the history of their neighborhoods in a fun, engaging and creative way, and The Aperture Scavenger was born,” he said.
“This is a family-led event; parents and/or guardians will be joining kids on the scavenger hunt. We have found that parents have just as much fun as their children during the event,” Rooney said.
There will be a fee of $5 per child or $10 per family; parents and guardians join free. Organizers are limiting the event to 50 participants, and are asking people to register in advance by going to www.apertureproject.org/oregon-city-aperture-scavenger
Although there aren’t any specific prizes, every participant will receive a raffle ticket to win prizes from some of the sponsors.
The event will begin at 11 a.m. at New Hing’s Chinese Restaurant, 517 Main St., in downtown Oregon City.
“We suggest an age range of 8 and up, but we have had kids as young as 3 participate. It will take about an hour to run through the scavenger (hunt), and we are asking folks not to show up any later than 2 p.m.,” Rooney said.
He added, “I am very excited about The Aperture Scavenger. As an organization, our primary purpose is to meaningfully connect youth through the medium of photography, and The Aperture Scavenger is designed to not only create a connection among our participants and their families, but also to their community.”