Grandview 2.0

It was a Mobile Escape Residency 2.0.

Let me explain…

The students at Grandview Heights in grades 7-9 took part in their second residency this year (2019) at the beginning of May. They had all built an escape room once before, and went at it again for another week of designing, building and showcasing.

Traditionally, we meet with teachers prior to the Residency to understand curriculum that should be built into the final escape room. Then we come up with the theme to present to the students for them to brainstorm clues, blueprint, design and build.

We are turning things on their head for residency 2.0.

Back in April, we gave the students specific curricular outcomes and topics to consider, then pretty much said. “Go!”

The students presented their ideas to each other, followed by a vote in the weeks leading up to the actual residency. Throughout the month of April, the students narrowed the themes down to Mad Scientist and Harry Potter. We showed up for the residency with two things after helping the students through this process: The winning topic from the vote and a plan to help the students make it happen.

Students first figured out the story and the objective of their escape room, and then went back into the process of brainstorming, blueprinting, designing, building and showcasing. This time it was absolutely amazing to see how much leadership and ownership the students took in their project… and it showed in the final escape rooms.

The Mad Scientist Escape Room was built based on plants, genetics, solving equations, and systems of equations.

The Harry Potter room was built based on storyline development, mixing substances, electric circuits and systems, and isolationism.

What is next? Well, the students get to build again in the Fall with a more intense focus on specific curriculum outcomes. Why? They are going to be running a field trip for other schools and students in their area using the escape rooms that they build during their next residency.

Will this be residency 3.0?