Thinkabara

🔢 Escape room: The Number Vault

Google Classroom

A math escape room for class and home: four stations of addition, sharing into pairs and number patterns build a four-digit vault code.

The story

The class vault is locked with a four-digit code. Only a team that solves the chain of puzzles can open it in time.

Professor Capy stored the end-of-year party cards in the vault. The code was scattered across four thinking stations.

Run it at home or in class

What to prepare

  • 4 puzzle cards
  • A score sheet
  • Pens
  • An envelope or safe with the code 5473

Tips for the facilitator

  • Print each station on its own sheet and hide them around the classroom.
  • You can give every team its own envelope with the same clues.
  • For an easier version, leave a calculator or a hundred chart out.

Difficulty level

The story clues stay the same on every level; harder levels add more locks in between. You can ask for a hint at every stage.

0 of 6 stages solved · Easy · 15–25 minutes

Stage 1: The addition station

1/6

Run it in real life too

Print a facilitator kit for the easy level: a sheet with the opening story, the setup and every answer, plus a big card for each of the 6 stages.

🔢 The Number Vault: facilitator kit

Kids and tweens · 15–25 minutes · Level: Easy · 6 stages

Opening story: The class vault is locked with a four-digit code. Only a team that solves the chain of puzzles can open it in time. Professor Capy stored the end-of-year party cards in the vault. The code was scattered across four thinking stations.

Setup

  1. 4 puzzle cards
  2. A score sheet
  3. Pens
  4. An envelope or safe with the code 5473
  5. Print the 6 stage cards and put them in order, or hide each card around the room so every answer leads to the next one.
  6. Read the opening story to the group and start a timer.
  7. When the group gets stuck, give one hint from the table, one at a time.
  8. Print each station on its own sheet and hide them around the classroom.
  9. You can give every team its own envelope with the same clues.
  10. For an easier version, leave a calculator or a hundred chart out.

Answers and hints (facilitator only)

StageAnswer / codeHints
1. The addition station512 plus 8 is 20. · Plus 5 is 25.
2. The pairs station4Divide 8 by 2.
3. The pattern station7These are the odd numbers: add 2 each time.
4. Warm-up route · The symbols on the lock4Every symbol is a number. What is one symbol worth? · Add: 2 plus 2.
5. Warm-up route · The number board10Look at the last number in the sequence. · Add 2 to it.
6. The final station5473The digits are 5, 4 and 7. · The largest is 7 and the smallest is 4, so the difference is 3.

Read at the end: The vault is open! Inside are the party cards, and on them: “Numbers are just clues waiting for someone to listen.”

🔢 The Number Vault · Stage 1 of 6

The addition station

Add 12 + 8 + 5. The ones digit of the answer is the first digit of the code. What is it?

✍️ Our answer:

🔢 The Number Vault · Stage 2 of 6

The pairs station

There are 8 children in the class, and each one needs a dance partner. How many pairs will there be? That is the second digit of the code.

✍️ Our answer:

🔢 The Number Vault · Stage 3 of 6

The pattern station

Which digit is missing in the pattern 1, 3, 5, __, 9? That is the third digit of the code.

✍️ Our answer:

🔢 The Number Vault · Stage 4 of 6

Warm-up route · The symbols on the lock

On the way to the last clue of “The Number Vault” you find another corridor of locks. Every 🔢 is worth 2. Add two symbols.

🔢 + 🔢 = ?

Which number opens the lock?

✍️ Our answer:

🔢 The Number Vault · Stage 5 of 6

Warm-up route · The number board

Each step to the right adds 2.

2 → 4 → 6 → 8 → ?

What is the next number in the sequence?

✍️ Our answer:

🔢 The Number Vault · Stage 6 of 6

The final station

The fourth digit is the difference between the largest and the smallest digit you have found so far. Write all four digits in station order. What is the code?

✍️ Our answer:

Facilitator guide: 🔢 The Number Vault

What the room practices

Addition, sharing into pairs, odd numbers and finding a difference.

The 4 stations (without the answers)
  1. The addition station: Add 12 + 8 + 5. The ones digit of the answer is the first digit of the code. What is it?
  2. The pairs station: There are 8 children in the class, and each one needs a dance partner. How many pairs will there be? That is the second digit of the code.
  3. The pattern station: Which digit is missing in the pattern 1, 3, 5, __, 9? That is the third digit of the code.
  4. The final station: The fourth digit is the difference between the largest and the smallest digit you have found so far. Write all four digits in station order. What is the code?

Age and group size

Best with teams of 3–5 children. In a class or a big party, print a kit per team and run the room in parallel.

Giving hints in this room

Online the hints open one at a time; in the printed kit they sit in the facilitator table next to each answer. Give the first hint after a couple of minutes of silence, not at the first wrong guess.

Questions and answers

What age is “The Number Vault” for, and how long does it take?

It was written for kids and tweens, at medium difficulty, and usually takes 20–30 minutes. It has 4 story stations, and online you can choose between three difficulty levels that add more locks.

What do I need to run “The Number Vault”?

A printer and these props: 4 puzzle cards; A score sheet; Pens; An envelope or safe with the code 5473. The printable kit includes a facilitator sheet with every answer and a card for each stage.

What if the players get stuck?

Every stage has graded hints. Online they open one at a time; in the printed kit they sit next to each answer on the facilitator sheet. The first hint never gives the answer away.

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