Specks of color litter the grass around the Campanile. Children of all ages, toting brightly-colored pails and baskets, mill about while staring wistfully at the plastic eggs decorating the ground.

It’s shortly before 10 a.m. Saturday, and the start of the Interfraternity Council and Panhellenic Council’s annual Easter Egg Hunt is only minutes away.

For at least one 3-year-old, however, four minutes is an eternity – especially when the rainbow-colored prizes are inches from her fingertips.

One little girl sneaks eggs into her basket. She brings them to her parents, proud of her find.

Her parents laugh as they scatter the eggs back onto the ground.

“No, no, honey,” they say. “We have to wait to pick up the eggs!”

Luckily, she’s distracted by the arrival of the Easter Bunny.

All over the lawn, parents try to drag their children away from the eggs, trying to make the event fair for other children while still giving their preferred offspring somewhat of an advantage.

“You’re one of the older kids,” one woman whispers to her son. She points to the fence across the street from the Memorial Union. “Go over there and get eggs, OK?” she continues. “Way over there by the trees.”

The Campanile begins to strike 10.

“Go, kids, go!” shouts Chad Whitman, vice president of operations for the Interfraternity Council and event co-chairman.

Parents and kids storm the lawn, grabbing eggs right and left, tossing them into buckets, baskets and hats.

Within eight minutes, every last egg has disappeared from the lawn.

Kids run around with grins lighting up their faces.

“Mom, Mom, I think I won!” shouts one little boy, holding up his basket.

Luke Dirks, 2, tugs on his mother’s jacket.

“Is it over?” he asks.

“Mom warned you it was quick,” replies his mother, Jean. “I knew if we were late, we’d miss it!”

Dave and Jean Dirks have made it an Easter tradition to bring their two children – Luke and 4-year-old Abbie – to the hunt.

“We live right on sorority circle, so we know about it,” Jean Dirk said. “Abbie’s been to every one. Every year we come.”

Whitman, junior in chemistry, said he’s not sure exactly when the Easter egg hunt began, but the greek community has been sponsoring the event for “quite a while.”

Lindsey Hunzelman, director of special projects for Panhellenic Council, said the event was successful.

“We had a great turnout,” said Hunzelman, junior in pre-journalism and mass communication. “It’s really great to have kids from the Ames community to come to the Iowa State campus.”

Hunzelman said the hunt is “a big tradition for the greek community.”

Whitman said he loves the looks on participants’ faces.

“It’s really cool seeing all these kids go gaga for the Easter Bunny,” he said.

“These kids got a lot of freakin’ eggs.”