Mount Si students craft ornaments for holiday scavenger hunt

The scavenger hunt will run through December and includes prizes.

Shoppers can “go wild this holiday season” on a scavenger hunt for Snoqualmie Valley critter ornaments made by students at Mount Si High School.

The hunt is a partnership between the SnoValley Chamber of Commerce and Mount Si High School teacher Joe Dockery to promote shopping locally. Dockery’s digital art students are making 900 laser-cut wood ornaments that will be hidden in the chamber’s public-facing businesses, such as restaurants and retail. When shoppers find an ornament, they can scan a QR code to be entered to win prizes. Then, they can take the ornament home.

“When you’re working with kids, they only have a limited amount of time each day to work on this kind of project,” Dockery said. “We’re going to make as many as we possibly can.”

Dockery said his students are always looking for projects and wanted to help the businesses affected by the April fire in downtown Snoqualmie. That idea grew into a campaign to help all the Valley’s small businesses, said chamber director Kelly Coughlin.

The students researched animals commonly found in the Snoqualmie Valley and settled on six that will be used for the ornaments: elk, eagles, salmon, bears, owls and cougars. They used Adobe software to design the ornaments and will use a laser engraving and cutting machine to make them. After a student prepares the cut on the computer, the laser takes about one minute to cut the design out of a sheet of thin wood.

Dockery said he loves having the laser available to the students in his classroom. Making a tangible product, rather than simply designing it, requires students to think about the art in a different light, he said.

“It’s a whole other level of learning,” he said. “And it’s super cool when you make something and then you actually walk away with it.”

Dockery’s students have used their art for a lot of community-focused efforts, like fundraisers and promotions. Currently, they are making laser-cut wood medals for the Snoqualmie Elementary spelling bee and stickers for local businesses.

“We’re not only spreading kindness and our talent, but we also get to learn how to make these products,” said Romalyn Hatol, a junior in Dockery’s Wildcat Production Club. “[The community and the students] both get something, we both get rewarded.”

Scavenger hunt prize winners will be announced Jan. 5. Prizes, donated by local businesses, include a one-night stay at Salish Lodge and several gift certificates.

“It’s so important for our businesses to thrive,” Coughlin said. “We are wanting to give them a great start for this year so that they’re here for years to come.”