In the past few years, escape rooms have been on the rise, evolving from simple locked boxes in an open room to complex adventures spanning multiple rooms involving electronics, sound design, and even live actors. This past semester, students enrolled in the Makerspace: Escape Rooms (INFO 418) course brought that same spirit of creativity and design to the Fairy Tale Ball at The Urbana Free Library.
"Library Land Quest," a multipart escape room experience spread throughout the library, was a big hit. Long lines formed at each of the six stations as children eagerly awaited their turns to participate in the interactive challenges. The Urbana Free Library is just one beneficiary of INFO 418 students’ imagination and hard work. Since the course was first offered in fall 2019, students have partnered with a variety of campus and community clients, from the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts to the Museum of the Grand Prairie.
According to Game Studies and Design Instructor Duncan Baird, the course teaches students a variety of skills and theory behind the designing and manufacturing of escape rooms.
"There are sections on how to design players' experiences, the process of playtesting and how it feeds into iterative design, manufacturing skills like how to use laser cutters and 3D printers, working with clients, and design constraints," said Baird. "This is in addition to more individualized lessons, as we work with the students to design their own learning goals and what they actually want out of the course."
Kyungwon Koh, associate professor and director of the Champaign-Urbana (CU) Community Fab Lab, brings her family to the Fairy Tale Ball at The Urbana Free Library every year.
"Having the quest throughout the library this time made it even more engaging," Koh shared. "I know how much time and effort the instructors and students put into preparing for this all semester, so I wanted to give them a big shoutout—and to remind us all of the power of community and play, and the role our land-grant university plays in moments like this."