An escape room challenge can be used to review information for a test or master previously learned facts. Make sure it is fun by choosing a narrative to tie everything together. Find the pharaoh’s tomb before the tomb robbers do! Discover a new land! Find the lost writings of Shakespeare. Make it relevant to whatever your child is learning in history or Bible at the time.

Escape rooms can definitely be elaborate, but the outline below is for a simple escape room that you can do with inexpensive items or things you might already have. As long as there is a prize at the end, it seems to do the trick.

You will need:

• Envelope and paper
• Scrabble tiles (or simply cut out letters from paper)
• Marker
• Legos
• Balloons
• Scissors
• Smart device that requires passcode to unlock (iPhone, iPad, etc.)
• Bible
• White crayon
• Water colors, water, paint brush
• Vase, bowl, or dish
• 2 Locks
• Box that can be cut
• Puzzle
• Piggy bank
• Backpack or other bag with zipper
• Book from historical literature
• Post-it notes
• Safe or box that can be locked with a key
• Prize!!!

Follow the outline below by inserting your own review questions.

1. Give your child an envelope with scrabble tiles. When your child unscrambles the letters, it will spell out the room where she is to start.
   1. Ex: CNKITEH→ KITCHEN.
2. In the room, there is a sign that says “start here.” Below the sign is a color pattern made of legos. The colors correspond to some balloons in the room.
   1. Ex: The legos are stuck together in a red-yellow-blue-green pattern. There are red, yellow, blue and green balloons randomly in the room
3. Nearby are a pair of scissors to pop the balloons. The balloons must be popped in the order of the lego color pattern.
   1. Ex: The child pops the red balloon first, then the yellow, blue and green.
4. Inside each balloon is a historical question that warrants a number answer.
   1. Ex: How many languages were there before the Tower of Babel? 1
   2. How many tribes of Israel were there? 12
   3. How many years did the Israelites wander in the wilderness? 40
   4. How many sons did Abraham have? 2
5. Using the answers from the balloons, unlock an ipad to reveal the background screen.
   1. Ex: the passcode to unlock the screen is 112402
6. The home screen background is the next clue. A question with an answer in the Bible.
   1. Ex: The background screen is an image of Noah’s ark card with the Scripture reference blacked out. Your child must determine that the Scripture reference, Genesis 6, is missing.
7. Your child looks around the room for a Bible. Once found, she goes to Genesis 6, there will be a piece of paper with a hidden message written on it in white crayon. There are watercolor paints and a cup of water nearby. Use the watercolor paints to uncover the message to the next clue. This clue should direct your child to a vessel of some kind: vase, bowl, dish, etc.
   1. Ex: The hint written with white crayon says : What did Esau trade his birthright for? Find something he would have used to hold it. (answer: bowl)
8. Inside the vessel is another number question written on a scrap of paper or post-it. The number of digits should match the first padlock that is connected to the scissors, keeping them shut.
   1. Ex: What is the date of the Exodus? 1446 B.C. Use the numbers 1446 to unlock the scissors.
9. Look around the room for something to cut. A box that is taped shut says “cut here.”
10. Once the box is cut open, inside the box is a puzzle of a historical landmark relevant to the review. Must put the puzzle pieces together to reveal the image and clue written on the puzzle. The clue should send the child to a piggy bank. This website creates puzzles out of any image you upload.
    1. Ex: A puzzle of the Egyptian pyramid, once assembled, reads “Pharaoh kept his riches in his tomb where do you keep yours?”
11. Inside the piggy bank is another clue. A review question with a numerical answer (date, number of years of something, number of people at an event, etc.)
    1. Ex: What is the date of the Call of Abram? 2082 BC
12. The numbers are the code that unlocks another lock that is keeping a backpack locked. Unlock the backpack.
    1. Ex: Use the answer, 2082, to unlock the backpack
13. Inside the bag is a historical book with a clue hidden on one of the pages. Whether written on a post-it on a page or by highlighting the words directly in the book to form a clue. The clue should direct her to where the key is hidden.
14. Find the key. It unlocks the safe. Inside the safe is your child’s prize!