Escape room games are such a fun way to give kids some hands-on problem solving practice. And this escape room has a twist!

You may think that if zoo animals escaped you would also escape the zoo, but for this escape room the puzzles all lead to returning the animals to their cages and locking them back up.



Maybe this should be called a puzzle room instead of an escape room. Either way it is sure to get your students some hands-on critical thinking practice in order to solve it.

Supplies for a Zoo Escape Room

• Printables (in Resource Library)
• Red, Yellow, and Blue Washi Tape (get a full rainbow here)
• Small Animals or Pictures
• Yellow Balloon
• Ultra-fine Sharpie
• 3 containers to act as cages (something like this works just fine)
• 1 programmable 3-digit lock
• 1 programmable 4-digit lock
• 1 programmable 5-digit lock
• 1 combination lock with combo (25-00-22) or a second 5 digit lock
• A copy of the book A Pandemonium of Parrots
• A bag of freshly popped microwave buttered popcorn

Setting up a Zoo Escape Game

As always the first thing to do is gather your supplies and print all your printables. You will need to prepare your balloon by stretching it out and writing a 3 digit number on it (I used 125) and a tiger paw print very small.

Set your locks. The combination lock needs to be 25-00-22 or use a 5-digit that is 2502. The 3-digit is 125, the 4 is 8082, and the 5-digit is 59241.

One thing to keep in mind about this room is that you actually need 2 rooms to set it up! The rooms can be separated by a hall as mine were, but I wouldn't put them too far apart.

In the first room, you will need to hide the freshly popped popcorn. We left ours in the microwave, and for some reason the kids did not get into it! Use your combination lock to "lock" the door to the room. We wrapped a bike chain around the doorknob with the lock on it. You will also need to hide the 5 animal cards around the room. If you do not have a combination lock that has the combination 25-00-22, use a 5 digit lock and the second set of animal cards (they have 5 digit number next to the pictures rather than 6 digit).



Then using one color of washi tape (I went with blue since I had the most blue), make a line on the floor starting outside of the door and going into the room that will house the second part of the puzzle.

In the second room, hide your 3 wire "cages" with the locks on them, but open. Hide the animals through the room along with the book, collective noun cards, and balloon.



Now you will continue your blue washi tape around the room leading to the cage with the 4-digit lock.



Starting at the door, add in the yellow and red tape. The yellow will need to make a path around the room leading to the cage with the 3-digit lock. The red will then go to the cage with the 5-digit lock.

Now you have your rooms ready, so it is time to solve them!

Solving the Zoo Themed Escape Puzzles

When the kids go to solve these logic problems, they are starting in an imaginary cage. The goal of the first room is to identify which animal's cage they have been locked in, so they can choose the correct code to get out. The clue they have to go on here is the smell of buttered popcorn. They can connect this to the Binturong when they read the descriptions.

Once they are out of the first room they will need to follow the blue line to the second room.


After they get this final cage locked, they can leave the zoo!

I received a copy of this curriculum and compensation in exchange for an honest review. 

Middle school, a new adventure for this homeschooling mom. Transitioning kids to more independent learning while increasing the difficulty to an appropriate level plus preparing for high school and deciding what kinds of classes will best do that. It is a little daunting.

I had honestly overlooked Apologia's Exploring Creation with General Science, 3rd Edition while looking at and trying to plan for middle school years. After all, I have a 6th grader this year! I was too used to the depth covered in the Apologia Elementary series that I didn't understand why a general science curriculum might be needed.

I was wrong. After looking through this curriculum it will definitely have a place in my kid's seventh grade school year. Especially since my oldest really hasn't shown a particular interest as far as science goes; I'm curious to see which part she loves the most!

What is General Science?

While Exploring Creation with General Science, 3rd Edition doesn't seem to be the most descriptive name, it actually is exactly how it sounds, a basic overview of many scientific fields. The curriculum begins with some history of science and teaching the scientific method and how to interpret results. This is followed by modules on astronomy, geology and paleontology, meteorology and oceanography, chemistry, physics, life science, biology, marine science, environmental science, and a short module looking at science and creation.

Like all Apologia texts, this curriculum is based on a Biblical, creationist worldview, and there are passages throughout the books to emphasize this.

Why would you use a General Science Curriculum?

Unlike the elementary courses or the high school courses, Exploring Creation with General Science, 3rd Edition does not dive deeply into each subject. There simply would not be enough time available to cover everything. Instead it gives a small taste of many fields to give a child base knowledge on each of these fields. It also gives them the knowledge they need to choose what areas they are most interested in when it comes to select high school course.

This course is intended to be a seventh grade science course to create a bridge between the elementary sciences and the more intense high school sciences.

Components of Apologia's Exploring Creation with General Science, 3rd Edition

The basic components required for Apologia's Exploring Creation with General Science, 3rd Edition curriculum are the textbook, student notebook, and tests/solutions manual. All of these are available in a packaged set for savings and ease of ordering.

Also available are an mp3 or CD of the textbook if your child is more of an auditory learner, or a thumb drive with video lessons if your child is more visual. These may be purchased separately or with a different package.

The text book is broken into 14 modules which are indicated by colored tabs on the side of the book. These are not actual tabs, just edge indexing; just want to clear that up since it has no variation in texture, only color.



Unlike the elementary curricula, the student notebook is a required. It provides a schedule for the kids to follow as well as space for note taking and for recording experiments.



It is also spiral bound, so it sits nicely for the kids to be able to take notes it. I do love that the notebook/ study guide is full color! The color just makes it a bit more engaging for the student using it.



The solutions manual not only includes answers to tests, but also to the study guide questions. It has the same edge indexing as the textbook.

There is a paper test booklet the kids can use for testing, but the tests are also included in the solutions manual. Tests involve matching, multiple choice

How Does Exploring Creation with General Science, 3rd Edition Differ from Previous Editions?

Like all sciences, advancements and discoveries have been made, and this newer version reflects those.

However, this 3rd Edition has also been updated to increase a student's ability to work independently with additional instruction for note taking and introducing exams with the first 2 being open book.

Along with being an nice introduction to upper level sciences, it also includes even more experiments and hands-on activities!

What I Like about Exploring Creation with General Science, 3rd Edition

This science curriculum is set up, so the student is in charge. It gives a full schedule for them to follow, and it is only a 4 days schedule, which I also love.  So this is curriculum is great as kids transition to more independent learning which is every homeschool parents goal!



But remember you are still responsible for grading your student's work, but luckily, Apologia has including not only a grading rubric for the experiments, but also a grading sheet.



In the back of the textbook a full list of experiment supplies is available, so you can be prepared. Most are general household supplies, but some preparation is required to find the appropriate piece and be sure it is clean and ready to go.



Like other courses from Apologia, Exploring Creation with General Science, 3rd Edition does have a section with resources for further exploration on the website.

Things to Be Aware Of!

Things I would Change about Exploring Creation with General Science, 3rd Edition

I would really like it if the student notebook also had the same edge indexing as the textbook. It just makes everything a bit easier to locate. Honestly, a different color to indicate each module would be great, but that may be more of my OCD personality, and something I can achieve on my own with flags.

You can see there is not a whole lot that I don't like about Exploring Creation with General Science, 3rd Edition homeschool science curriculum. I definitely think it will be a great start to upper level sciences for my kids especially since it emphasizes independent learning.  Plus since it covers so many fields, my in decisive daughter may even find a path she likes before she heads into high school!

Your Chance to Win a Copy of Exploring Creation with General Science, 3rd Edition

Genetics and Microbiology! These are probably not a subject most people consider approaching in a homeschool environment, but this was one of my favorites in high school! I really wanted to bring in a microscope and everything, but not knowing how much experience the kids would I have, I decided against it.

So, after I abandoned the microscope idea, I threw in a little immunology and created this escape room. It may also be somewhat inspired by the board game Pandemic in the fact that the goal of the room is to prevent a pandemic rather than escape a scary situation.

Unlike the game pandemic, kids will also have to learn a little about immunology, genetics, and microbiology before they can put their problem solving skills to work!

It also gives you a chance to teach the difference between an epidemic (an outbreak of disease in a given area) which everyone seems to think is the worst and a pandemic (an outbreak of disease across a large area usually over continents) which is actually the worst!

Supplies for Preventing a Pandemic Escape Room

• Printables
• 2 Petri dishes
• Unflavored gelatin
• Glow in the dark puff paint
• Paper circles (from a hole punch)
• Ultrafine sharpie
• 3-Digit programmable lock
• 4-Digit programmable lock

How to Prepare for this Microbiology/ Immunology Escape Room

As always, you will need to print all the printables and laminate if desired. However, for this room, you will also have to prepare your petri dishes.


So to create some faux bacterial cultures you need to start by mixing up some unflavored gelatin and pouring a thin layer in each of the dishes. If I am remembering correctly, you can make 4 dishes from one envelope of gelatin. So it can give you a couple extra in case something goes wrong.

Once your gelatin is set, you need to add some bacteria. Not really, you are just going to make it look like you are growing some bacteria. For this, you will use puffy paint the glow in the dark kind seemed to be the perfect color for some gross cultures.

In the first plate, you will want to make it look like a traditional culture where the concentration of organisms decreases on each side. The second dish needs to be fairly covered with a few open areas of differing sizes to recreate the look of a disc diffusion plate. Make sure there is a clear area that is noticeably larger than the others to simulate a more effective antibiotic.

Now take some of the "holes" from a hole punch and write 3 digit numbers on them using an extra fine sharpie. Place each of these in one of the open areas on the disc diffusion plate. The code on the "most effective" disc needs to match the combination on the 3 digit lock.


The other lock will need to be programmed to the number 1953. Yes, this is the year that the double helix nature of DNA was discovered; you all know I am a dork like that.  Once both of the locks are set and you have your "bacterial cultures," you can set up your room. Start by hiding the culture plates somewhere locked with the 4-digit lock.

How to Prevent a Pandemic in this Escape Room

There are a lot of pieces to find in this room! Tons of neutrophils to hide all over, which when found should indicate to the kids that they are looking at a bacterial pathogen. They will have to find the sheet that defines the various white blood cells and causes of increased white blood cell counts before they will be able to use those critical thinking skills to deduce this.





Now they have helped to prevent a pandemic! They have used their critical thinking skills to  identify an albeit very generic pathogen and find an "antibiotic" that will treat it.

So really, there is nothing terribly difficult about this escape room at all except the puzzles don't look like a lot of typical puzzles and of course the combination puzzle could be tricky. I know my students tried organizing those antibodies and antigens in all sorts of ways before they even looked at the DNA sequence.

They did however escape and well within the time; I think they had about 5 minutes left. So this worked well for a group of 4 kids over 13, and I think a slightly larger group of younger kids could handle it too although they may need help with pronunciation!

It would be fun to use a neutrophil filled microscope slide instead of hiding the neutrophils too if you have kids familiar with the correct way to handle a microscope!

Either way, I hope your students can use their critical thinking skills to prevent the pandemic and any epidemics that pop up along the way! Be sure to check out all our Escape Rooms!





White Blood Cell images courtesy of  OpenStax College - Anatomy & Physiology, Connexions Web site. http://cnx.org/content/col11496/1.6/, Jun 19, 2013., CC BY 3.0, Link