Escape Rooms and Other Immersive Experiences in the Library

“In over a decade of designing programs, nothing I’ve ever worked on inspired more delight and surprise than our immersive programs,” says librarian Nicole Scherer. Escape Rooms worldwide have quadrupled in the past three years, and libraries are getting in the act. Scavenger hunts have been a library orientation staple, puzzles, clues, and team competitions add to the fun. When it comes to STEM or curriculum support, what better way to learn chemistry than the immersive play of a wizardry potion class. Author Ellyssa Kroski, an escape room enthusiast and potions class graduate, will show you a full range of options with how-to guidance, on such topics as: Hosting a pre-designed game from leading educational supplier, BreakoutEDU.com Start-to-finish, replicable model Kroski developed for her library―Search for Alexander Hamilton and the Missing Librarian.How to design your own escape room from scratchDescriptive listing of 16 library projects with audience demographics, run-time, required staff, and budgetResources for making crossword, soduku, or jigsaw puzzles.Escape room board games or a digital breakout with Google toolsPop-up escape rooms to take on the road for outreach.Bring LARP to your library, live-action role-playing, the most popular immersive experiencehow to create an escape room flow-chart for planningDesigning a kid-friendly escape room.Vendor listings of the all the supplies you’ll need. Planning template for an escape room project.