An escape room is a popular form of play for groups. You are (safely!) locked in a room and have to solve puzzles and problems together, which lead to the ‘key’ to free yourself from this room. The theme of an escape room can be anything, including an organ!
What is an organ-escaperoom?
An organ escape room is a space (for example a classroom) that is designed in such a way that it appeals to the imagination. You can imagine that you are actually inside a large organ. You are surrounded by thousands of pipes and you see them in rows everywhere, from very large to very small. Sound should not be missing.
The story should make it exciting: you are locked in the organ (why?). You know that in 15 minutes the organist will play a thunderous piece (which piece?). If you are still between the pipes at that time, you will hear far too much of the organ. So you absolutely want to get out in time! You have to solve assignments (puzzles, riddles) to find the code to free yourself.
Educational purpose
The organ escape room serves two educational purposes: 1. for the creators and 2. for the players.
- Compiling the escape room and the assignments: before you can make appropriate design of the room, you need to know more about what can be found inside the organ. If you want to come up with appropriate assignments, you first have to know more about organs yourself (music, history, construction, technology, heritage, etc.).
- Playing the escape room: the assignments should challenge you to gain knowledge, to listen to something, to look up information, to try it out. Moreover, you play the escape room in a team and you can only succeed if you work together.
Assignment for compilers
- Form 6 groups to create 6 assignments.
- Each group makes one assignment (puzzle / riddle) for the escape room, where the solution is one digit.
- All commands together lead to a 6-digit code, which is necessary to obtain the key to exit the organ.
- Make sure that as many senses as possible are stimulated in the escape room: look, feel, smell, hear, taste.
- Visitors/players will have 15 minutes to escape from the escape room (run a timer for extra excitement, and do something with sound effects).
- Make assignments that are not too easy, but can be made within 15 minutes. Please note: there is therefore approximately 2.5 minutes available per question!
- Make a video of your escape room during a first test.
First: do some research
- First choose the theme for your escape room, for example: – the history of the organ (in your town) – important composers of organ music – the technique of the organ.
- Make a schedule for the planning of the assignments. For instance: The 6 assignments each lead to a digit.
- End goal: opening a box with something tasty / fun / educational for the whole group.
- End code (use a number lock with 6 or two with 3 combinations): eg 195827 Number 1 = outcome of puzzle 1; number 9 = outcome of puzzle 2; number 5 = outcome of puzzle 3; number 8 = etc.
Idea: to decorate your organ escaperoom, you can have some good highres pictures of the organ interior printed on textile (flags).
