Thinkabara

🔬 Escape room: The Safe in the Science Lab

Google Classroom

A science escape room for class or home: riddles about the states of water, a thermometer reading and a code that opens the results safe.

The story

A safe in the lab holds the results of an experiment. To open it, you need to work out three simple, accurate science clues.

Run it at home or in class

What to prepare

  • A thermometer (real or drawn)
  • A glass of water and an ice cube to demonstrate
  • A printed lab notebook
  • A safe or a locked box

Tips for the facilitator

  • Show the kids ice, water and steam from a kettle, carefully and with an adult.
  • Draw a thermometer marked at 25 and let the players “raise” it.
  • Set the safe to 37.

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 boiling kettle

1/6

The scientist wrote: “When water boils it turns from a liquid into a gas. You can see it puffing out of the kettle. Its name has five letters.”

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 Safe in the Science Lab: facilitator kit

Ages 8 and up · 15–25 minutes · Level: Easy · 6 stages

Opening story: A safe in the lab holds the results of an experiment. To open it, you need to work out three simple, accurate science clues.

Setup

  1. A thermometer (real or drawn)
  2. A glass of water and an ice cube to demonstrate
  3. A printed lab notebook
  4. A safe or a locked box
  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. Show the kids ice, water and steam from a kettle, carefully and with an adult.
  9. Draw a thermometer marked at 25 and let the players “raise” it.
  10. Set the safe to 37.

Answers and hints (facilitator only)

StageAnswer / codeHints
1. The boiling kettlesteamIt’s the white cloud above a boiling kettle. · S-T-E-…
2. The thermometer3225 plus 7.
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 safe code37STEAM has 5 letters. · 32 plus 5.

Read at the end: The safe is open. Inside the lab notebook it says: “Good science starts with a good question.”

🔬 The Safe in the Science Lab · Stage 1 of 6

The boiling kettle

The scientist wrote: “When water boils it turns from a liquid into a gas. You can see it puffing out of the kettle. Its name has five letters.”

What is the gas that boiling water turns into called?

✍️ Our answer:

🔬 The Safe in the Science Lab · Stage 2 of 6

The thermometer

The thermometer shows 25 degrees Celsius, and then the temperature rises by 7 degrees.

🌡️ 25°C ↑ 7°

What is the temperature now?

✍️ Our answer:

🔬 The Safe in the Science Lab · Stage 3 of 6

Warm-up route · The symbols on the lock

On the way to the last clue of “The Safe in the Science Lab” you find another corridor of locks. Every 🔬 is worth 2. Add two symbols.

🔬 + 🔬 = ?

Which number opens the lock?

✍️ Our answer:

🔬 The Safe in the Science Lab · 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 Safe in the Science Lab · 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 Safe in the Science Lab · Stage 6 of 6

The safe code

On the safe it says: “The code is the temperature from stage two plus the number of letters in the word STEAM.”

What is the code?

✍️ Our answer:

Facilitator guide: 🔬 The Safe in the Science Lab

What the room practices

States of matter, reading a thermometer and adding.

The 3 stations (without the answers)
  1. The boiling kettle: What is the gas that boiling water turns into called?
  2. The thermometer: What is the temperature now?
  3. The safe code: What is the code?

Age and group size

Best with teams of 4–6 players. With more people, split into two teams racing the clock, each with its own kit.

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 Safe in the Science Lab” for, and how long does it take?

It was written for ages 8 and up, at medium difficulty, and usually takes 15–25 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 Safe in the Science Lab”?

A printer and these props: A thermometer (real or drawn); A glass of water and an ice cube to demonstrate; A printed lab notebook; A safe or a locked box. 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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