Employees explored the stories and stalls that define the landmark, while learning more about their colleagues during the team-building adventure.
Photo: Left to right, Sheryl Garnicki, Jason Goodman, Meredith DiIola, Angela Ober, Tim Rucinski
What do an old market bell, a giant stoop, crabs, and a plate of muskrat have in common?
They were all part of a team-building adventure that sent University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) Admininistration and Finance (A&F) employees racing through historic Lexington Market, solving clues, talking with vendors, and snapping photos, all while learning a little more about their colleagues along the way.
Recently, employees from Design and Construction, Sustainability, and Project Delivery and Change Management traded their usual workday responsibilities for a scavenger hunt through Lexington Market.
The idea started with a simple goal: Give employees an opportunity to strengthen relationships outside their everyday work environment.
“We wanted to have a team-building event early in the year, and I was brainstorming inexpensive ideas with my daughters,” said Jody Latimer, executive director, Design and Construction. “One of them suggested a scavenger hunt, and then we chose Lexington Market because it was close and would help with the campus vibrancy initiative.”
The UMB’s Vibrancy Plan is a push to direct investment toward areas in and around the UMB campus. In doing so, the plan is aiming to create a more active environment that includes restaurants, shops, green spaces, streetscape improvements, public art, and new housing.
Once the location was selected, Jill Hamilton, office manager, Design and Construction, began turning the idea into a hunt.
Hamilton met with Ariel Yates, market operations coordinator at Lexington Market, and Jessica Parks, director of community impact for Baltimore Public Markets, to learn more about the market and develop clues that would encourage participants to explore it.
“They lived in the community, they’re from the community, and they know the history,” Hamilton said. “When I told them we were working on a scavenger hunt, they understood from the start we needed visual things. So they gave me some really good visual landmarks.”
Lexington Market offered a fitting place to make that connection. Established in 1782, the market is the nation’s longest continuously operating public market and today is home to more than 40 businesses, including local entrepreneurs and longtime Baltimore institutions.
The result was a 37-question challenge that took participants inside and outside the market and required considerably more than simply finding objects.
Employees were randomly divided into teams of four or five and assigned roles, including navigator, recorder, timekeeper, and liaison. Then they went hunting.
Teams searched for the original Lexington Market bell, took photos at market landmarks, interviewed vendors, identified design features from the market’s recent renovation, hunted for businesses from riddles, and tracked down Baltimore’s "Largest Stoop."
They also had to find where muskrat and raccoon are sold, discover which vendors offered UMB discounts, identify regional seafood traditions, find the phrase “It’s A Crab Cake legacy, HON!,“ and locate public art outside the market.
Some clues required a little wordplay. “You’re reely close — follow the freshest scent in the market” led teams to Faidley’s Seafood. “This clue is over-easy — find the spot where simple breakfasts shine” pointed toward Sunny Side Café.
The format encouraged employees to divide responsibilities and figure out how to use the strengths of their teammates, much as they do while managing projects at UMB.
Jason Goodman, senior project manager, Design and Construction, noted that something as simple as giving each team only one answer sheet made a difference.
“It forced us to delegate responsibilities, break out the questions, and collaborate together to solve the clues as accurately and quickly as possible,” Goodman said.
For Taylor Hall, manager, Project Support and Controls, Design and Construction, the event offered a chance to interact with colleagues without deadlines, meetings, and projects getting in the way.
“Being able to connect with my co-workers outside of work tasks and responsibilities” was her favorite part, Hall said. “We got to see everyone’s competitive side and creative thinking.”
Hall said the challenge also required teams to rely on trust and communication while working through problems toward a common goal.
That competitive streak apparently wasn't hard to uncover.
Goodman said his favorite part was a toss-up between taking team photos and the “friendly/competitive banter” among the groups.
“It was especially fun to see everyone’s competitive side come out during the scavenger hunt,” he said.
In the post-event survey, employees described the hunt as fun, engaging, and an opportunity to spend time with colleagues they do not regularly work with. One said the event offered the chance to learn both about the historic market and “my teammates’ personalities under pressure.”
For Latimer, creating those connections matters because the work performed by Design and Construction depends heavily on collaboration.
“Our jobs can be quite stressful, and we rely on each other to get all of the work completed, so it is important to build camaraderie,” she said.
Goodman sees that interdependence every day.
“There is no way our jobs get done on time without each and every one of us working together,” he said. “Just as you can’t win a game without a pitcher in baseball or point guard in basketball, it would be impossible, if not negligent, to deliver a project without our administrative, operational, review, and inspections teams.”
For one afternoon, the teams had a different kind of project to deliver. The deadlines were measured in minutes, the project site stretched across Lexington Market, and success might depend on deciphering a riddle, interviewing a vendor, or finding a teammate willing to pose for yet another photo.
But the skills behind it — communication, delegation, problem-solving, and working toward a common goal — were familiar territory.
The only difference was that this time, there were bragging rights waiting at the finish line.
NOTE: If you’d like to get a copy of the Lexington Market scavenger hunt clues for you or your team, email Jill Hamilton at jillhamilton@umaryland.edu.