ABCD and Escape Rooms

A staff blog from Catherine Johnson

In May I got to have my first escape room experience in celebration of my niece’s birthday. It was a family party with members aged 7 and up, and all 7 of us had so much fun! 

We did the Golden Acquisition escape room: 

‘The Golden Alpaca’ is the newest addition to the Museum of Curiosities. An ancient treasure of powerful properties, those who possess the alpaca will be lavished with wealth and fortune beyond their wildest dreams. Can you, as part of the mysterious Illamanati, successfully steal back the ancient treasure before you are caught? 

(https://arcadiaescaperoom.ca/golden-acquisition/)

At first it was very complicated and we spent over half our time trying to figure out how to begin! We found seemingly random, unconnected clues and had no idea how they fit into the overall mystery. Some of us were competitive and determined to complete the challenge without pressing the Help button! Others wanted to ask for help early on in order to get some direction and to focus our time more efficiently. 

I realized that EVERY single person’s skills and unique gifts mattered and were useful to the group! My youngest nephew contributed by finding clues hidden underneath pieces of furniture. None of the rest of us even thought to look there! Some family members provided structure and methodical strategy to our efforts, while others contributed creativity in figuring out the significance of particular clues. There was a coffin that most of us were afraid to open. Luckily one of my older nephews was courageous and opened the coffin to reveal another clue! There was value in knowing a little bit of science, and a little bit of math, and a little bit of history. We had to be able to read a map and understand how various locks worked. There were riddles and even a crossword puzzle. I loved that adults and kids had to work together and that every person mattered!