By Humphrey Zhao and Sophia Lin

Ever wondered what an escape room in school would be like? Some attentive highschoolers may have noticed posters plastered across the high school detailing an intriguing escape room hosted by Mr. Miller. We took it upon ourselves to investigate this new feature of school life and report on our findings. Through an extensive interview with the organizer Mr. Miller, we have unearthed some tips and secrets for the student body to enjoy.  

Before all that though, let’s quell some curiosity and explain the technicalities first! 

A lot of you were probably wondering why would someone as busy as Mr. Miller, a former Australian NASA scientist, take time out of his packed schedule to organize an escape room for the entertainment of his students? Turns out, Mr. Miller’s inspiration came not from his area of expertise, physics, but his general interest in puzzles and problem-solving—evident in the rubric cubes and wooden puzzles always present in his room. To Mr. Miller, puzzles are a nice way to challenge oneself, without the stress associated with an exam. As a relatively new teacher to the high school, Mr. Miller also cited wanting to add something to the community. He is thinking of creating a puzzle club and thinks that an escape room would be a good way to judge the high school’s interest in problem-solving 

Interested? Then, let us mighty interviewers inform you where you can sign up! Actually, this is where the escape room starts. Puzzle #1 – Getting the course code. You may have noticed that Mr. Miller has set up a number of posters advertising the escape room across the high school campus. While this may just appear as a way of getting the word out, each poster actually contains one letter of the 13 letters long link to join the course that contains sign up slots and extra information.  

Now, onto the fun stuff!  

Q: Is there a theme behind this escape room? 

A: The theme would be SAS, school life, and things that would apply to high school. No, it’s not about physics or science, but a wide range of logical thinking, problem-solving, and creative thinking skills is required. It is not knowledge-based. 

Q: Is someone else organizing this escape room along with you? Are teachers allowed to participate in this escape room? 

A: The organizer is only Mr. Miller although some other teachers helped test it to give feedback. Teachers are allowed to participate, but they must be from high school, as some of the content and knowledge in the escape room is restricted to high school. 

Q: Does this escape room include any props, NPCs, or scary background music? 

A: There are locks and keys in the escape room that must be found. Other than that, there are not a lot of fancy props or scary background music. For now, there are also no NPCs—the escape room is mostly about puzzles, but Mr. Miller does have a small acting role in it and presents the introduction. He is thinking of collaborating with the drama club in the future if he organizes a second escape room. 

Q: Till when is the escape room going to exist? 

A: It will last until the end of this year. If it’s popular enough, it will most likely exist next year as well.  

Q: How many groups of students are allowed in the escape room per day?  

A: It is recommended that each team consists of 4-6 people and since it takes around 30 to 40 minutes for one group to finish the escape room, there will most likely only be one group per day with the group attempting the escape room during flexi. But it is also possible to squeeze in another group during lunch. 

Q: Can people ask for help in the middle of the escape room? 

A: If a group is really stuck, then Mr. Miller will offer a helping hand, as he would like groups to finish within 40 minutes. He will also spectate each group’s attempt for safety reasons and to make sure everything is running smoothly and people are entertained and having fun.  

Although it is apparent now that we won’t be able to enjoy exploring this escape room very soon, we believe that once DL ends, the escape room will return to a normal state of operations as well. But for now, we hope this article has helped you uncover some of the mysteries and tips of this escape room. Remember, it’s our secret now…