When planning programs, I often try to create programs around based around patron requests. When kids ask me to do a program about a favorite comic book or TV show character, I make it happen. One of my favorite ways to fulfill a patron’s request is with an escape room. If you have never hosted an escape room before, these are fun programs where patrons have one hour to solve a series of puzzles to escape a room.
Creating an Escape Room
To host an escape room at your library, start by choosing an age range and a theme for your room. Decide if you want to host an escape room for elementary school or middle school age patrons. Or, if you want to reach younger patrons, you can host family escape rooms where your younger patrons solve the puzzles with their caregivers. Once you have chosen your age group, think about what topics or characters are popular with your patrons. A middle school patron requested I do a program involving mummies, so I made an escape room where patrons had to escape from a pyramid.
Once you have your theme, start creating puzzles and clues. I try to use a variety of different kinds of puzzles. I use a mix of number puzzles, picture codes, finding puzzle pieces hidden around the room, and word scrambles. My goal is for every patron to find at least one kind of puzzle they can solve. Each puzzle’s solution leads to the next puzzle. After solving the final puzzle, patrons find small treats like pop-its, chocolate coins, or mini cups of slime that they get to keep.
Setting Up the Room
If you want to use physical boxes and locks, there are escape room kits you can buy online. The kits can be expensive, so to save money, I use envelopes instead when making escape rooms. I hide envelopes all around the room. On the front of each envelope is a picture that connects with one of the puzzles and a place to write that puzzle’s solution. Then, inside the envelope is a different puzzle. For example, in my pyramid escape room, the first puzzle was a puzzle of painting. When kids put the puzzle together, they found a hidden message. On one of the envelopes was a picture of the painting and a space to write the hidden message. Once they found the envelope and showed me the code, they could open the envelope and get the next puzzle. I use a separate envelope for each puzzle until the very end of the escape room. That envelope contains the prize for finishing the escape room.
After your puzzles are ready to go, set up the room with your puzzles and decorations. Hide the envelopes and clues to help the patrons solve the puzzles all over the room. Decorations will take your escape room to the next level, and help immerse patrons in the experience. I also like to dress up in a costume that goes with the room. It makes the kids laugh, and helps the event feel extra special. I limit each escape room to six patrons at a time. This way, everyone gets to solve some puzzles. If many patrons want to attend your escape room, create one that can be easily re-set, so you can run the escape room multiple times.
Endless Possibilities
Escape rooms can be created for just about any topic a patron requests. If your library has a lot of Percy Jackson and the Olympians fans, you can try this Percy Jackson escape room created by Cindy Shutts of the White Oak Library (IL). Or, if you want an escape room patrons can access from anywhere at any time, you can make virtual escape room for your library’s website. Maeve Dodds created a great list of virtual escape room resources and examples from around the web. I made a virtual Under the Sea escape room that my patrons really enjoyed.
Have you ever hosted an escape room at your library? What theme did you use?
Ann Baillie (she/her/hers) is the Youth Services Assistant Manager at the Alsip-Merrionette Park Public Library in Alsip, Illinois. She is the past-manager of the Illinois Library Association’s Youth Services Forum. Her main interests are the connection between Readers’ Advisory and technology, and how libraries can use technology to better reach patrons.
This post addresses ALSC Core Competency III. Programming Skills.