Halloween Science Escape Room - 6th 7th 8th Grade Science Review Activity

Take advantage of your students’ excitement about the Halloween season!

Immerse them in science learning through logic puzzles and problem solving. 

This escape room works equally well in classrooms or at home. You can use printed materials or digital files; locks and boxes are completely optional!

The Halloween escape room is a hugely engaging and memorable experience for your middle school students.

• Flexible! Choose the number and order of puzzles to use.
• Editable! Differentiate for your group of learners.
• Modular! Create a unique experience that fits your class period.
• The eight independent puzzles allow students to demonstrate their knowledge of:
  • The lunar cycle
  • Dichotomous keys
  • Brain anatomy
  • Sound waves
  • Solids, liquids & gases

Each puzzle includes help cards in case your students haven’t covered these concepts.

An Escape Challenge Video sets the stage:

• “Some GHOUL has stolen all the Halloween candy. Trick-or-treating is going to be ruined unless students solve the clues and save the day!” (You can see the intro in the video preview.)

What’s included in the Halloween Escape Room?

• 8 unique puzzles with printable props
• Introductory video challenge to set the mood
• Teacher directions
• Setup and tips for implementation
• Options for using escape room in different ways
• Detailed answer keys for each puzzle
• Single Student Digital Version in PPT that can be uploaded and converted into Google Slides
• Single Student Print Version in PPT and PDF for families to print at home
• Editable Teacher Version PPT
• Digital answer sheet (Google form) that is great for 1:1 or Google Classrooms  - it auto-corrects for added fun.
• A list of over 50 ideas for prizes
• Reward templates
• 30 unique signs to hold up for team photos at the end

Ideas for extra fun:

• Allow students to use flashlights or string some lights up in the room. 
• Turn off the lights and play spooky music!
• Offer the escape room during family-teacher conference week when everyone needs to decompress.

Your students will love the opportunity to learn or review science concepts in a fun, challenging way! It’s a great way to channel excess energy in a classroom and everything is prepared for you with minimal prep, depending on your implementation.

Your students will be talking about this one for weeks!

What Materials Will I Need?

Extra care was taken to make this escape room inexpensive and easy to implement. There are several ways to handle student progress with the puzzles. You choose how you want to implement the game.

Here are the options you’ll need to choose from:

Pick ONE lock option:

• Manilla envelopes: You’ll need one envelope for each puzzle x the number of sets you want to make (so multiple teams can work on the same puzzle simultaneously). Students show you their answers to get a new puzzle envelope.
• Actual locks: Each group will need one lockout hasp; a storage box with a place for the lockout hasp; three 3-digit locks; four 4-digit locks. Students will use the code from each puzzle to unlock each of the locks and open the box.
• Digital locks on Google: Each group needs one internet-connected device. When the student group enters the correct answer, the self-correcting form allows them to move to the next puzzle.

Pick ONE method to distribute:

1. Printed version in the classroom - Just print and prepare all the puzzle pages you’ve chosen for your experience.
2. “Single Student Print Version” at home - This file contains no answers. You can print and send home, or distribute the PPT/PDF for families to print.
3. “Single Student Digital Version” - This file contains no answers. Students solve by manipulating images on the slides or reading and answering questions. You will need a method of assigning the digital file (email, LMS).

Also, Puzzle Seven can use OPTIONAL UV pens and UV lights, or an invisible pen.