Science4Exitschool: Escape Games for Chemistry Classes

This paper introduces Science4ExitSCHOOL, a doctoral project from the University of Education Weingarten in Germany that develops, tests, and evaluates educational escape games for chemistry instruction from grade 7 onward. The authors argue that chemistry is often perceived as abstract, and that declining interest in chemistry and physics, along with weakening scientific competences, makes playful approaches especially relevant within STEM education. The work is grounded in game-based learning and gamification theory, which position games as purposeful vehicles for knowledge transfer rather than mere entertainment, and it draws on prior research suggesting escape games can foster teamwork, problem-solving, and creativity.

The paper defines six core elements of educational escape games: narrative, game-flow, puzzles, equipment, learning, and debriefing. Because laboratory safety rules out locking students in a lab, the project adapts the format into classroom-based, virtual, or imaginative versions. Its games combine traditional puzzles with chemistry experiments and digital enrichments delivered through platforms such as Actionbound, genially, and H5P. A worked example involves a fictional criminal case in which students use paper chromatography to determine whether ink colours match, visualise secret messages, and derive numerical codes from atomic numbers on the periodic table to decrypt messages.

The project is designed to be run by teachers without expensive equipment, which the authors frame as a means of promoting equal opportunity across schools. Evaluation focuses on teacher and student motivation, feasibility, and sustainable learning, using quantitative questionnaires. The paper is primarily descriptive and forward-looking: it reports the design rationale and planned development of additional games in cooperation with teachers, rather than presenting empirical outcome results.