A couple of years ago, the McMaster Museum of Art began to look into the (not so) secret world of geocaching.

To date more than fifty of our Art Adventure geocoins have travelled the world, through many hands, to thousands of locations.

Geocaching is an amazing way to explore new places (See last summer’s Canadian Geographic  story). The activity also brings adventure and fresh perspective to familiar places like McMaster University campus. While some geocachers come to the area specifically to hunt for caches, many find themselves here for different reasons and geocaching provides an enjoyable diversion.  Here are some recent comments from some of those who seized a moment to geocache while on campus:

–  Second try, I found it during my daughter’s swim meet.
–  Celebrating a happy visit to the hospital…we found a cache. We’ve spent many hours at Mac over the years and we are thankful for the fine care always given. Thanks, Mac & thanks for the great cache. The buildings here are gorgeous.
–  Was in the area while visiting my nephew who’s studying at Mac.
–  Quick find while here for soccer.
–  Out for our daily lunch time walk.
–  Quick stop on way home from the library
–  Visiting a friend in McMaster Hospital, I took my kids out to do some “Caching on Campus”.
–  At the pool for a swim meet and had some extra time 
–  Was in the area for work today and had some spare time on my hands.

McMaster University campus with its beautiful buildings, gardens and facilities including the McMaster Museum of Art (of course) alongside the RBG’s nature trails and the charm of Westdale village is a great place to explore.

Update:
The Art Adventure coins are assigned artist’s names and the goal to reach that artist’s birthplace (or travel the equivalent distance).  Many have surpassed their goal. Twenty of the Art Adventure coins have travelled beyond 2000 miles. Top five travelers are:
The Matisse Geocoin has logged 45000+  miles – now in Östergötland, Sweden
The Riopelle Geocoin has logged 15000+  miles – now in Queensland, Australia
The Gericault Geocoin has logged 11000+ miles – now back in Hamilton after a jaunt to Germany
The Andy Warhol Geocoin has logged 10000+ miles – last seen in Australia
The Beckmann Geocoin has logged 9000+ miles – last seen in Nova Scotia