There’s something about searching for hidden treasure that brings families together in a way few activities do. On Jekyll Island, just an easy hour and fourteen-minute drive from Jacksonville, Florida, that feeling comes alive each winter through Island Treasures, a globe hunt that transforms ordinary walks into shared missions and quiet corners into places worth a second look.
The hunt itself isn’t for the glass globes people often picture. Instead, families search for clear plastic globes hidden in public areas around the island. Those plastic finds are later exchanged at the Jekyll Island Guest Information Center for hand blown glass globes created by commissioned artists. But for Laura and her daughters, the experience is about far more than what ends up on the shelf at home.
Laura’s daughters, Gracie, Scarlett, and Mae, are Jekyll Island locals, which makes their approach to globe hunting both experienced and instinctive. When asked what she loves most about searching for the globes together, Gracie didn’t hesitate. She shared that sometimes they get to see other people finding globes too, and that the best part is how fun it is looking with their parents. It’s a shared excitement, one that turns the hunt into something everyone participates in, not just the kids.
Scarlett has her own method when it comes to searching. She pays close attention to the sides of walkways, checks the grass, and always looks under benches. Those are the places she feels most people might overlook, the kind of details you only notice when you slow down and really look.
When it comes to deciding where to look next, Gracie explained that sometimes ideas just come to her in the moment, a place that feels worth checking or a spot that hasn’t been searched yet. Laura added that they also use a little strategy before they even start. She checks social media to see if a globe has already been found that day and where it was located so they can avoid searching the same area and focus their attention elsewhere.
Rather than moving together as a group, the girls spread out. Gracie explained that they each check different places so they can cover more ground. It turns the hunt into a team effort, with everyone contributing in their own way.
When asked how she would explain globe hunting to another kid, Gracie said she’d tell them to look for a plastic ball with something inside it and to check under benches, along sidewalks, and near Horton’s House.
Mae’s advice was simpler but just as telling. She said to look for a shiny baseball figure, a reminder that sometimes the thrill comes from anything that catches your eye and makes your heart jump for a second.
Their enthusiasm has even reached the point of full on detective work. Scarlett and Gracie have, on more than one occasion, convinced their mom to sit in the car with them while they watch people they suspect might be the secret globe hiders. For them, the mystery is part of the fun.
That’s what makes Island Treasures special. The glass globe may be the reward, but the real treasure is the way the hunt encourages families to slow down, work together, and see Jekyll Island a little differently. It’s not about rushing to the find. It’s about paying attention, trusting your instincts, and enjoying the search along the way.
And sometimes, it’s about a shiny baseball that almost feels like treasure too.
