Nubble Lighthouse scavenger hunt: York man behind the ‘Keepers Quest’
YORK, Maine — Nubble Lighthouse fans have a new game to play when they visit their favorite seaside attraction this summer – a scavenger hunt rooted in the landmark’s history.
“The Keeper’s Quest” gives visitors of the Nubble a set of clues scattered across town that lead the way to finding the lighthouse keeper’s secret hidden journal. Along the way, they learn about the history of the Nubble and what it has taken over the years to keep it running.
James Orrigo, the 32-year-old artist behind The Keeper’s Quest, considers the game an offering to the community where he has moved as an adult to raise his family. An award-winning content creator, Orrigo said he is passionate about education and wanted to “gamify” the Nubble’s story with the help of its actual keeper, Matt Rosenberg, and the artificial intelligence app ChatGPT.
“We have so many people who are already coming here. How else do we get these people to bring that awe and sense of wonder?” Orrigo said.
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Nubble keeper, prop expert, help make scavenger hunt
The Keeper’s Quest has six clues starting in the bureau of the Nubble gift shop. Players can reach behind the bureau’s glass to discover the first clue. The clues are sometimes hidden in props that are placed in locations from the Cape Neddick Bridge down to Lobster Cove.
The storyline was crafted with the help of Rosenberg’s expertise on the Nubble and its history. Rosenberg has been the lighthouse keeper and caretaker of Sohier Park for the last decade. He is also the only person with access to the lighthouse via a small boat.
Rosenberg’s tidbits of history helped Orrigo to add color to the storyline that adds both wonder and humor. A keeper named Eugene Coleman, for example, once had a cat that captivated visitors by swimming back and forth from the mainland to the Nubble’s island, according to Rosenberg. The lighthouse also had a fog bell mechanism that, if broken, required the keeper to ring it by hand with a hammer every 10 seconds.
“He was such a fantastic resource,” Orrigo said. “He’s so knowledgeable of what he does and the past, and he just has a heart for it.”
Orrigo then worked with an expert prop maker to develop ideas for making the game a fun, hands-on experience. He also used ChatGPT to come up with different ways to use Rosenberg’s information, and to help him come up with text that a lighthouse keeper from years ago might write.
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Orrigo dedicated to education, helping others
Most of Orrigo’s work involves helping children with pediatric cancer have fun by making music, videos and video games. He started a program called Big Dreams Tour, partnering with the Children’s Cancer Research Fund. His work has earned him recognition, like Zoom’s Innovation Award.
“I don’t really know how to sing,” a young patient says with a smile in a video of clips from the Big Dreams Tour.
“Don’t worry, we got you covered,” Orrigo replies in the video. What follows are shots of digital images and videos that Orrigo has helped the kids make and experience.
Orrigo became passionate about the work in part from his experience recovering from a serious brain injury in which music was therapeutic. He also said his passion comes from the loss of his mother Karen in 2012 to terminal cancer. He said as time passes, it becomes difficult to remember his mother’s voice. Making media with pediatric cancer patients, he said, helps ensure those kids’ voices will never be lost.
Orrigo said his great-grandfather had a cottage in York, so he visited as a kid. Today, he lives there with his wife and two children. He said the Keeper’s Quest is just one way he hoped to connect with the town, and he hopes people find the game to be a fun new way to learn about their local history.
“We love the community so much, want to keep finding ways to give back,” Orrigo said. “I think this is a really unique way to give back to the community and get people moving.”
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This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Nubble Lighthouse scavenger hunt: York man behind the ‘Keepers Quest’
