Thinkabara

🌱 Escape room: The Tu BiShvat Seeds

Google Classroom

A Tu BiShvat escape room for kids 7–9: discover the seven species, count seedlings and spot a doubling pattern to open the seed safe.

The story

The school’s bag of magic seeds got locked in the garden safe, and nobody remembers the code. Without the seeds we can’t plant on Tu BiShvat! Solve the riddles and open the safe.

Run it at home or in class

What to prepare

  • A bag of seeds
  • A box with a code lock
  • Dried fruit and fruit from the seven species
  • Printed station sheets

Tips for the facilitator

  • Prepare a real basket with the fruit from station 2.
  • At the end, plant the seeds in cups of soil.
  • Hand out dried fruit as the prize.

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: What is “Tu”?

1/6

In Hebrew, letters are also numbers: Tet = 9 and Vav = 6. Together they spell “Tu”, so Tu BiShvat means the “Tu-th” day of the month of Shvat.

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 Tu BiShvat Seeds: facilitator kit

Kids 7–9 · 15–25 minutes · Level: Easy · 6 stages

Opening story: The school’s bag of magic seeds got locked in the garden safe, and nobody remembers the code. Without the seeds we can’t plant on Tu BiShvat! Solve the riddles and open the safe.

Setup

  1. A bag of seeds
  2. A box with a code lock
  3. Dried fruit and fruit from the seven species
  4. Printed station sheets
  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. Prepare a real basket with the fruit from station 2.
  9. At the end, plant the seeds in cups of soil.
  10. Hand out dried fruit as the prize.

Answers and hints (facilitator only)

StageAnswer / codeHints
1. What is “Tu”?15Add 9 + 6.
2. The seven species basket3Go through the basket fruit by fruit. · Check whether each one is on the list.
3. The seedling bed204 times 5.
4. The seed that doubles16Every day the number of leaves doubles.
5. Warm-up route · The symbols on the lock4Every symbol is a number. What is one symbol worth? · Add: 2 plus 2.
6. The safe153The day of the month, then the number of seven-species fruits.

Read at the end: The safe is open and the seeds are out! Now everyone plants a seed of their own, and next year we’ll see whose grew tallest.

🌱 The Tu BiShvat Seeds · Stage 1 of 6

What is “Tu”?

In Hebrew, letters are also numbers: Tet = 9 and Vav = 6. Together they spell “Tu”, so Tu BiShvat means the “Tu-th” day of the month of Shvat.

On which day of the month of Shvat is Tu BiShvat? (Write a number.)

✍️ Our answer:

🌱 The Tu BiShvat Seeds · Stage 2 of 6

The seven species basket

The seven species of the Land of Israel are: wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives and dates. The class basket holds: an apple, a date, a banana, an olive, a pomegranate and a strawberry.

How many fruits in the basket are from the seven species?

✍️ Our answer:

🌱 The Tu BiShvat Seeds · Stage 3 of 6

The seedling bed

The garden has 4 rows, and 5 seedlings are planted in each row.

How many seedlings are planted altogether?

✍️ Our answer:

🌱 The Tu BiShvat Seeds · Stage 4 of 6

The seed that doubles

A magic plant grows like this: on day one it has 1 leaf, on day two 2 leaves, on day three 4, on day four 8.

1 → 2 → 4 → 8 → ?

How many leaves will it have on day five?

✍️ Our answer:

🌱 The Tu BiShvat Seeds · Stage 5 of 6

Warm-up route · The symbols on the lock

On the way to the last clue of “The Tu BiShvat Seeds” you find another corridor of locks. Every 🌱 is worth 2. Add two symbols.

🌱 + 🌱 = ?

Which number opens the lock?

✍️ Our answer:

🌱 The Tu BiShvat Seeds · Stage 6 of 6

The safe

The safe code is the answer from station 1 followed by the answer from station 2. For example, if the answers were 11 and 4, the code would be 114.

What is the code?

✍️ Our answer:

Facilitator guide: 🌱 The Tu BiShvat Seeds

What the room practices

Hebrew letter values, sorting a list, multiplication and doubling.

The 5 stations (without the answers)
  1. What is “Tu”?: On which day of the month of Shvat is Tu BiShvat? (Write a number.)
  2. The seven species basket: How many fruits in the basket are from the seven species?
  3. The seedling bed: How many seedlings are planted altogether?
  4. The seed that doubles: How many leaves will it have on day five?
  5. The safe: 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 Tu BiShvat Seeds” for, and how long does it take?

It was written for kids 7–9, at easy difficulty, and usually takes 15 minutes. It has 5 story stations, and online you can choose between three difficulty levels that add more locks.

What do I need to run “The Tu BiShvat Seeds”?

A printer and these props: A bag of seeds; A box with a code lock; Dried fruit and fruit from the seven species; Printed station sheets. 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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