Escape Room STEM: An Interactive and Gamified Approach to Learning Science and Mathematics

This practice introduces Escape Room activities as a playful and interactive way to teach STEM concepts to fourth-grade primary school pupils. Instead of traditional classroom instruction, students collaborate to solve puzzles and challenges embedded in a story-driven escape room scenario. In this case, the chosen story was titled “The Evil Wizard’s Lab”, a fantasy-themed narrative designed to engage learners through mystery and adventure. These puzzles are designed to reinforce key concepts in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), while promoting collaboration, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills.

Through this method, students actively engage with scientific phenomena, engineering design, and mathematical calculations, applying their knowledge in a hands-on and immersive learning experience. The gamified approach enhances motivation and teamwork, making STEM subjects more exciting and accessible for all learners.

Results from the implementation show that students improved their cooperation, communication, and enthusiasm for learning—demonstrating that Escape Rooms can be a powerful educational tool. The effectiveness of this practice was examined through an empirical research study.

Kokkinos, A. (2023). Escape rooms in science teaching within STEM education (Master’s thesis, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Faculty of Education). Thessaloniki, Greece.