Will hunches pay off for treasure hunter?

Your son has a sneaking suspicion that someone's been trespassing in his tree house. He can't explain why—no one else knows the super-secret padlock combination. His gut instincts are validated when he spots his rare-edition comic book in the grubby hands of the neighbor kid who's known for his shady shenanigans.

The movie National Treasure , released on home video May 3, can teach your kids why it's important to tune into your instincts. After watching the movie, use our questions below to spark a family conversation about inklings. Then play our game, “Sixth Cents,” to bring the big-screen lesson to life!

The adventure film features Benjamin Franklin Gates (Nicolas Cage), who descends from a long family line of treasure hunters. They've all been searching for the same thing—a war chest hidden by the Founding Fathers after the Revolutionary War. The forefathers hid clues to its whereabouts, including an invisible one on the back of the Declaration of Independence.

The curator of the National Archives, Abigail Chase (Diane Kruger), laughs at Ben and his request to examine the Declaration. When Ben learns of an enemy's plan to pilfer the precious piece of history and find the treasure, Ben must steal the Declaration of Independence himself to save the document and locate the riches.

Talk Together

Imagine you are Abigail, and Ben tells you there's an invisible clue on the back of the Declaration of Independence. What would your reaction be? What would your intuition tell you to do?

Try to think of a time when someone had instincts that were different from yours. Perhaps you were mountain biking and got lost. Your friend had a hunch to turn left, while you thought the way home was to turn right. What do you do when people's instincts don't match?

How much did Ben have to rely on his gut feelings to find the treasure? Sometimes his hunches led him down the right path, and sometimes the wrong one.

Share a time when you wish you hadn't relied on your snap decision. Then talk about an instance when following your hunch paid off. In the future, instead of complaining, how can you use your strengths to solve your problems, not wallow in them?

Play Together: Sixth Cents

Rely on your rapid response in this game of intuition.

You will need:
• 2 clear plastic cups
• 10-20 skinny straws
• Hole punch
• Scissors
• Dice
• Tape
• One bag of foil-covered chocolate coins

Punch holes around the rims of the plastic cups in a staggered line, with a half inch of space between the holes (approximately 10-20 holes per cup). Use scissors to cut off the bottom of one plastic cup. Tape the cups together rim to rim.

Place the cups open side up and stick straws through the holes in a random star-like pattern. Take six chocolate coins and carefully balance them on top of the straws. Now you are ready to play!

The object of “Sixth Cents” is to follow your instincts so you're not the one who lets the sixth and final coin fall. Take turns pulling out straws—making sure to use your intuition to choose which straw will cause the fewest coins to fall. After each player pulls a straw, reveal what your gut instinct was telling you.

When the last coin falls, unwrap a few coins and share the tasty treasure. Then add more coins to make six, and play again.

Your kids will learn, just like Benjamin Gates, that the decision whether to follow a gut instinct can be a risky balance—but the payoff can be sweet.

copyright © 2005 Cinematters