Thinkabara

🎬 Escape room: The Secret Movie Premiere

Google Classroom

A movie escape room for kids 7–12: find out who runs the set, count the popcorn bags and open the projection safe in time for the show.

The story

The audience is seated, but the secret film is locked in the projection safe. Solve three clues to start the screening on time.

Run it at home or in class

What to prepare

  • A chair with a “Director” sign
  • Popcorn bags or drawings of them
  • Printed admission tickets
  • A box with a film to screen

Tips for the facilitator

  • Set out 4 rows of 6 chairs (or draw them) so the counting is hands-on.
  • Print admission tickets with the first clue on the back.
  • At the end, play a short video or a family home movie.

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: Who runs the shoot?

1/6

On the canvas chair it says: “I’m not in the film, but I tell the actors how to act and I shout ‘Action!’”

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 Secret Movie Premiere: facilitator kit

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

Opening story: The audience is seated, but the secret film is locked in the projection safe. Solve three clues to start the screening on time.

Setup

  1. A chair with a “Director” sign
  2. Popcorn bags or drawings of them
  3. Printed admission tickets
  4. A box with a film to screen
  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. Set out 4 rows of 6 chairs (or draw them) so the counting is hands-on.
  9. Print admission tickets with the first clue on the back.
  10. At the end, play a short video or a family home movie.

Answers and hints (facilitator only)

StageAnswer / codeHints
1. Who runs the shoot?directorThis person leads the film from behind the camera.
2. Popcorn in the cinema244 times 6.
3. Warm-up route · The symbols on the lock4Every symbol is a number. What is one symbol worth? · Add: 2 plus 2.
4. Warm-up route · The number board10Look at the last number in the sequence. · Add 2 to it.
5. Warm-up route · The key cabinet8Count the keys in all the drawers. · Count in twos: 2, 4, 6…
6. The screening code32D-I-R-E-C-T-O-R has 8 letters. · 24 plus 8.

Read at the end: The safe opens and the film starts right on time. The screen reads: “Every good story starts with a small clue.”

🎬 The Secret Movie Premiere · Stage 1 of 6

Who runs the shoot?

On the canvas chair it says: “I’m not in the film, but I tell the actors how to act and I shout ‘Action!’”

What is the job called?

✍️ Our answer:

🎬 The Secret Movie Premiere · Stage 2 of 6

Popcorn in the cinema

The cinema has 4 rows with 6 seats in each row. A bag of popcorn was placed on every seat.

🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿 ×4

How many bags of popcorn are there?

✍️ Our answer:

🎬 The Secret Movie Premiere · Stage 3 of 6

Warm-up route · The symbols on the lock

On the way to the last clue of “The Secret Movie Premiere” you find another corridor of locks. Every 🎬 is worth 2. Add two symbols.

🎬 + 🎬 = ?

Which number opens the lock?

✍️ Our answer:

🎬 The Secret Movie Premiere · Stage 4 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 Secret Movie Premiere · Stage 5 of 6

Warm-up route · The key cabinet

The cabinet has 4 drawers. Each drawer holds 2 keys.

🔑🔑 | 🔑🔑 | 🔑🔑 | 🔑🔑

How many keys are in the cabinet?

✍️ Our answer:

🎬 The Secret Movie Premiere · Stage 6 of 6

The screening code

On the safe it says: “The code is the number of popcorn bags plus the number of letters in the job written on the chair.”

What is the code?

✍️ Our answer:

Facilitator guide: 🎬 The Secret Movie Premiere

What the room practices

Film-set vocabulary, multiplication and counting letters.

The 3 stations (without the answers)
  1. Who runs the shoot?: What is the job called?
  2. Popcorn in the cinema: How many bags of popcorn are there?
  3. The screening code: 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 Secret Movie Premiere” for, and how long does it take?

It was written for kids and tweens, at easy–medium difficulty, and usually takes 15–20 minutes. It has 3 story stations, and online you can choose between three difficulty levels that add more locks.

What do I need to run “The Secret Movie Premiere”?

A printer and these props: A chair with a “Director” sign; Popcorn bags or drawings of them; Printed admission tickets; A box with a film to screen. 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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