Last October, I had a thought: "How hard could it be to make an escape room?" Well, our International Studies class did make one and it was a success! I am so proud of what our students achieved. We opened our room up to the public for one week and we were fully booked. Only seven teams managed to figure out our puzzles and escape.
Here are some of our players...
We assembled six different sections of Finnish history including: Helsinki becoming a capital city, the women's right to vote, the Russian Revolution, the Civil War, Urho Kekkonen's presidency and Finland joining the EU. It was such a cool experience to wander through time!
We went from this...
We went from this...
To this...
We had so much fun with the students playing a number of different roles, including an army general and Nicholas II. Overall, the hard work paid off an we managed to create an atmospheric, fun, and educational activity for the community to enjoy.
Job, well done!
There was no time to rest after our final day in the escape room though. I had to catch an early flight with a group of first-year International Studies students because we were flying to Austria to stay in Oberpullendorf!
This was part of a new Erasmus+ project all about energy and how we use it. During this trip, we examined energy and waste. It was also a great opportunity to explore a different country (which included a trip to a chocolate factory and Vienna).
Our Austrian hosts were amazing and before long, it was the final day! These projects are such a fantastic opportunity for students to explore, to make friends, and to develop their curiosity about the world around them.
Now, I couldn't make a blog post about the past couple of months without mentioning Penkarit and Wanhat. As I noted last year, Penkarit is a totally foreign concept to me as an English person. We simply have NOTHING like this back home. It was, once again, an absolute treat...
Moreover Wanhat was a beautiful event with all of the suits, dresses and dancing...
There are only ten weeks left until the end of term. Can you believe it?! Next up, visits to Dublin and the Czech Republic!
*Escape room thank-yous:
Special thanks to Antiiki Maakasiini for letting us borrow some beautiful furniture. Thanks also to Jani and Marja for their awesome items. Lastly, thanks to Halpa-Halli for lending us some pallets to build walls with!
