Scavenger Hunt

"Terrific Tooth Tales," a two-year exhibit for children focusing on the history -- and literature -- of dentistry, will open Saturday at the Dr. Samuel D. Harris National Museum of Dentistry at the University of Maryland, Baltimore. The exhibit will include an archival collection of more than 200 books with such themes as the first dental visit, the tooth fairy and proper oral hygiene, along with computer stations, a reading corner and interactive learning sites. Organizers said the exhibit will feature celebrity readers during the next two years with the twin goals of increasing reading proficiency and knowledge of oral hygiene.

Clicking through the Internet yesterday, Austin Higginbottom discovered new ways to enjoy Maryland's outdoors -- not such an easy task for a boy whose right leg will be in a cumbersome brace much of the summer."

Nearly 100 children gathered yesterday in Manchester for the local park foundation's annual Easter egg and scavenger hunt, turning Pine Valley Nature Center into a playground for youths eager to take part in the springtime tradition.Some youngsters got to the center long before the eggs were hidden in mulch piles and under trees. The early arrivals waited eagerly while the eggs were hidden by members of a local Boy Scout troop.The event was so popular that organizers ran out of eggs for the little ones to find in less than 20 minutes.

AN OUTDOORS THEME is planned for an egg hunt for youngsters and a scavenger hunt for older children to be held from 10 a.m. to noon April 3 at Pine Valley Nature Center, Manchester.The park is at the end of Wilhelm Lane, off York Street, opposite the Manchester Carnival grounds. The public is welcome. Admission is free. Both hunts will have a natural flair. Natural plant dyes are being used to color the shells of the 200 real eggs.The eggs are being dyed by a Manchester Boy Scout troop near the nature center.

Two young men and a juvenile were arrested early yesterday on theft charges stemming from a scavenger hunt in which hundreds of items, including a large fiberglass cow, were found on the lawn at Liberty High School in Eldersburg."

Scavenger huntLoad up the car with friends or family and take off on the ThirdAnnual Rallye 'round the County, a scavenger hunt that doubles as a Howard County tour. Discover historic sites and scenic spots in this challenging game that requires strategy, map-reading skills and teamwork. You'll get a detailed map, a clue sheet, T-shirts and a picnic lunch, and prizes will be awarded at a party to follow.The scavenger hunt begins at Circle D Farm, 15535 Carrs Mill Road in Woodbine, Saturday at noon and continues until 4:30 p.m. The party will be held at the farm from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tickets for the scavenger hunt are $24 for adults and $6 for children ages 3 to 16 and include the price of the party; tickets for the party alone are $15. All tickets must be purchased in advance.

ON A BRISK winter weekend, a group of fathers said goodbye to their fax machines and work-related phone calls to bond with their children. An emergency physician, a veterinarian, a circuit judge, lawyers, salesmen and others became members of Indian tribes with names such as Saponi, Chippewa and Shoshoni.The gathering, officially the Carroll Cherokee and Shawan Winter Camp-Out 1998, was one of the highlights of the Carroll County Family YMCA Indian Programs. The program is designed to give fathers time to explore new things with their children and teach them values such as caring, honesty, respect and responsibility, said David Sommer, director.

At an Earth Day celebration tomorrow,visitors can swap plants, make bird feeders, join an environmental scavenger hunt, pick up trash or hike a planned nature trail.The Phoenix Coalition, an environmental organization of faculty, staff and students at Carroll Community College, is sponsoring the celebration.Activities are scheduled from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the college, 1601 Washington Road.Tomorrow marks the coalition's second Earth Day celebration. The first program, held on a week day in 1996, drew 40 people, said Geneva Walsh, coalition president and an instructional technician at the college.

The get-acquainted scavenger hunt yesterday by Broadneck Senior High School teachers in their new temporary home was relatively painless.Well, one teacher was taken from Severn River Junior High School in a wheelchair.But even music teacher Jane Daugherty managed to chuckle through her tears as her right ankle swelled and turned a blotchy purple."I'm never going to live this down," she said before paramedics wheeled her to an ambulance for a trip to Anne Arundel Medical Center.Daugherty took a spill from a desktop when, swept up in the competitive spirit, she and other members of her team tried to remove a scavenger item -- a fake leg and arm hanging from a classroom ceiling -- to foil other teachers.

Carroll County Equestrian Center in Mount Airy will be the site Sunday for a jousting clinic and demonstration, scavenger hunts and guided hikes to celebrate Earth Day.The daylong event is sponsored by the Carroll County Equestrian Council as part of the national effort to focus attention on local recreation and parks projects.Carroll County is one of 500 communities across the country participating in the "March for Parks" Earth Day activities sponsored by the National Parks and Conservation Association,a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting, preserving and enhancing the U.S. National Park System.