Starts April 1, 2023

Grab your galoshes and get ready to discover art where you least expect it in BIMA’s Treasure Trek: A Glass Float Seek & Keep. This spring, in celebration of BIMA’s 10th anniversary, 200 hand-blown glass orbs will be hidden on public lands across Kitsap County just waiting to be discovered and treasured by intrepid art lovers. The rules are simple: you find it, you keep it—however we ask that you just keep one so more people can enjoy the hunt.

Working in partnership with Tacoma youth development arts non-profit Hilltop Artists, young glassblowers are creating 200 unique glass balls stamped with BIMA’s logo. The balls, or “floats” (inspired by the glass fishing net floats used by Japanese fishermen), will be hidden in parks, on trails and beaches, and other public lands across the county. Never quite in plain sight, the floats could be behind a log, in a tree, in a hollowed-out stump, under a bush, or other spots that help camouflage the grapefruit-sized artworks. But there’s no need to go tromping around off-trail, these translucent treasures will always be about an arm’s reach from marked pathways. 

Found one? It’s yours to keep! Keep just one, but continue to hunt and share photos if you’d like—share your find with the hashtag #BIMATreasureTrek and be entered to win one of five prize packages. 

Our first float drop will be April 1, 2023 and more will be hidden over the next six weeks, so don’t give up if you don’t find one on your first outing.

Participating Locations

BIMA’s Treasure Trek is a you-find-it, you-keep-it event with just a few guidelines to keep it fun for everyone:

Finding:

• The glass floats are hidden in public spaces such as parks and waterways. No need to trespass, the glass floats will never be on private property.
• Trail-hidden glass floats can be found within a few feet of the trail, and floats hidden on beaches will be well above the high tide line.
• Glass floats will never be hidden in ecologically sensitive areas or wetlands (soggy ground = no floats). 
• Don’t forget to look up, down, all around. The glass floats may be hiding off the ground in trees, behind logs, on an old fencepost, etc.

Keeping:

• Please keep only one float per seeker. However…
• Keep hunting, you might find one you like more. Please just hide your first treasure where you found the second one. Or, snap a photo and re-hide it for another seeker to find.
• Send a photo of you with your find to treasuretrek@biartmuseum.org
• Post your photo to Instagram with the hashtag #bimatreasuretrek and tag us at @bimuseum.of.art to win swag in celebration of BIMA’s 10th Anniversary. Follow @bimuseum.of.art for giveaway rules and updates.