The Great Escape: Exploring ‘Escape Rooms’ as science communication interventions

Little, Hannah; Wilkinson, Clare

Abstract

Escape rooms are a recent cultural phenomena, whereby a group of players are locked in a room and must solve a series of clues, puzzles, or mysteries in order to escape. From an educational perspective, escape rooms have been praised for offering a more holistic, human centred and play-based approach to learning, which is able to capitalise on the influence of game-based learning but via a technique that is not technologically driven in the same way that most modern gaming can be. Commercial Escape Rooms offer a wide variety of themes, from “mad scientist” labs to WWII codebreaking, and from a scientific perspective they can also cover topics like forensics, medicine and nuclear physics. Currently, the literature on escape rooms has concentrated on their commercial role in tourism, or as a tool used in formal education. In this contribution, we will explore their growing use in informal science communication: in science centres and museums. We conducted a set of interviews with institutions running science-themed escape rooms across the UK and USA. We asked about escape room themes, aims and audiences. In this presentation, we will present our findings on the scope and objectives of escape rooms in science communication contexts. We have found a range of objectives ranging from communicating science, attracting underserved groups, and financial gain. Our study provides a first look at the use of escape rooms in science communication contexts; outlining how they can attract specific audiences and engage them with scientific content.

Citation

Little, H., & Wilkinson, C. (2019, December). The Great Escape: Exploring ‘Escape Rooms’ as science communication interventions. Presented at Science in Public, Manchester, UK

• Presentation Conference Type: Lecture
• Conference Name: Science in Public
• Conference Location: Manchester, UK
• Deposit Date: Aug 26, 2021
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/7711467