Scientific Escape Room: A Science Communication Initiative Evaluated by Generic Learning Outcomes

The Scientific Escape Room, a science communication initiative at the Federal University of Juiz de Fora in Brazil, is evaluated in this study through the Generic Learning Outcomes (GLO) framework. The initiative uses a "clandestine lab" narrative with puzzles drawing on chemistry, physics, biology, and mathematics, and it was designed for adults over 18. Over roughly three months, about 360 participants across 98 groups took part, and 211 post-game questionnaires were collected.

Qualitative content analysis of 207 valid open-ended responses found evidence for all five GLO dimensions. Skills was the most frequently cited outcome (84 responses), followed by Enjoyment, Inspiration, and Creativity (38) and Knowledge and Understanding (28). Participants were predominantly young adults, with 66.5% aged 20 to 29, and were largely university-affiliated. Interviews with returning players reported an overwhelmingly positive evaluation and evidence that participants applied knowledge across disciplines.

The authors acknowledge several limitations that temper these conclusions. Selection bias is likely, since respondents were self-selected and skewed toward young, academically connected adults. Novelty effects may have inflated enthusiasm, and the study collected no longitudinal data, so it cannot show whether learning outcomes are retained over time. The findings therefore describe immediate participant experience and perceived gains rather than durable educational impact.

The study's scope is a single Brazilian university setting and a single science communication format, situated within a body of work on science communication in Brazil, escape room facilities, game-based learning, and group problem solving. Its most directly relevant prior work is a 2022 study of CellEscape, a virtual escape room on biotechnology, which provides a point of comparison for the format.