Thinkabara

🦄 Escape room: The Unicorn’s Rainbow

Google Classroom

A colorful unicorn escape room for kids 6–9: bring the colors back to the rainbow with patterns, riddles and a magic code. Free kit.

The story

Sparkle the unicorn woke up this morning and found that her rainbow had lost some colors! To bring them back, you need to solve 4 riddles and discover the magic code.

Sparkle is very polite, but when she gets excited she sneezes glitter.

Run it at home or in class

What to prepare

  • A big rainbow drawn on card
  • Star and heart stickers
  • Glitter (for the ending)
  • An envelope with the magic code

Tips for the facilitator

  • Make a paper rainbow with 7 stripes and hide 2 of them at the start.
  • Stick a path of stars and hearts on the floor for the children to walk on.
  • At the last station put 3 drawn unicorns and 4 horses on the table; it’s just confusing and funny enough.

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 colors that ran away

1/6

Sparkle’s rainbow had 7 colors. During the night 2 colors ran off to play in the clouds.

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 Unicorn’s Rainbow: facilitator kit

Kids 6–9 · 15–25 minutes · Level: Easy · 6 stages

Opening story: Sparkle the unicorn woke up this morning and found that her rainbow had lost some colors! To bring them back, you need to solve 4 riddles and discover the magic code. Sparkle is very polite, but when she gets excited she sneezes glitter.

Setup

  1. A big rainbow drawn on card
  2. Star and heart stickers
  3. Glitter (for the ending)
  4. An envelope with the magic code
  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. Make a paper rainbow with 7 stripes and hide 2 of them at the start.
  9. Stick a path of stars and hearts on the floor for the children to walk on.
  10. At the last station put 3 drawn unicorns and 4 horses on the table; it’s just confusing and funny enough.

Answers and hints (facilitator only)

StageAnswer / codeHints
1. The colors that ran away5Hold up 7 fingers and fold down 2.
2. The star pathheartAfter every star comes…
3. The fur riddlewhiteThink of a glass of milk.
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 magic code53Only the unicorns have horns, one each. · Don’t count the horses!

Read at the end: The rainbow is shining in every color again! Sparkle got so excited she sneezed, and now everyone is covered in glitter. A sneeze of joy!

🦄 The Unicorn’s Rainbow · Stage 1 of 6

The colors that ran away

Sparkle’s rainbow had 7 colors. During the night 2 colors ran off to play in the clouds.

How many colors are left in the rainbow?

✍️ Our answer:

🦄 The Unicorn’s Rainbow · Stage 2 of 6

The star path

Stickers are laid along the path to the castle: star, heart, star, heart, star, …

⭐ ❤️ ⭐ ❤️ ⭐ ?

What is the next sticker?

✍️ Our answer:

🦄 The Unicorn’s Rainbow · Stage 3 of 6

The fur riddle

Sparkle says: “My fur is the color of snow, of milk and of a cloud in a blue sky.”

What color is Sparkle’s fur?

✍️ Our answer:

🦄 The Unicorn’s Rainbow · Stage 4 of 6

Warm-up route · The symbols on the lock

On the way to the last clue of “The Unicorn’s Rainbow” you find another corridor of locks. Every 🦄 is worth 2. Add two symbols.

🦄 + 🦄 = ?

Which number opens the lock?

✍️ Our answer:

🦄 The Unicorn’s Rainbow · 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 Unicorn’s Rainbow · Stage 6 of 6

The magic code

3 unicorns and 4 horses were playing in the field. Each unicorn has one horn, and horses have no horns at all. The magic code is the answer from station 1, followed by the number of horns in the field.

🦄🦄🦄 🐴🐴🐴🐴

What is the magic code?

✍️ Our answer:

Facilitator guide: 🦄 The Unicorn’s Rainbow

What the room practices

Taking away, picture patterns, colors and careful counting.

The 4 stations (without the answers)
  1. The colors that ran away: How many colors are left in the rainbow?
  2. The star path: What is the next sticker?
  3. The fur riddle: What color is Sparkle’s fur?
  4. The magic code: What is the magic 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 Unicorn’s Rainbow” for, and how long does it take?

It was written for kids 6–9, at easy difficulty, and usually takes 15–20 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 Unicorn’s Rainbow”?

A printer and these props: A big rainbow drawn on card; Star and heart stickers; Glitter (for the ending); An envelope with the magic code. 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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