The goal of a good communicator must be to seek new ways to raise interest and curiosity, to involve the observers as much as possible and to make them an active part of what is being done. With this belief, the Young Minds section of Naples PONYS (Physics and Optics Naples Young Students) has created a Physics-themed escape room, presented for the first time at the 33rd edition of the "Futuro Remoto" scientific festival, held in Naples from 21 to 24 November 2019.

The project was inspired by the classic “escape room”, from which players have to get out in a limited time by solving riddles. The PONYS Physics Escape Room uses exactly the same structure with one fundamental difference: all the clues hidden inside the room direct the players to carry out simple physics experiments.

Once in the Physics escape room, players enter Professor Ostinato's lab, where they are challenged to save the world from a deadly nuclear explosion, which can be defused only from the professor's computer. Players must then recover the password and unlock the computer by solving the clues the professor scattered all around his lab. Therefore, the players become active players of the scientific experience, carrying out the experiments by themselves, without a communicator to bridge the gap between them and the scientific phenomenon. This type of approach is much more stimulating for the players, who, driven by the desire to win and leave the room, try to carry out the experiment suggested by the clue in every possible way. The players have to sharpen their wits and keep a level of concentration greater than what they would have if they were just spectators.

Once the game is over the communicators come into play: their role is to guide the players through a scientifically sound interpretation of the experiments carried out to exit the escape room. However, the role of the communicator is not limited to this: during the game the participants may need some help to proceed. The communicators must overcome this need and they must be ready to interact with the players by guiding them with witty suggestions that can lead them to the correct answer.

The Physics Escape Room has encountered a huge favour among the public, being one of the most successful attractions of the science festival, demonstrating that an active learning approach is a key factor in outreach activities. Given the popularity of the activity, the Physics Escape Room will be repeated soon during other events.

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Ponys mediators at the entrance of the Physics Escape Room
© Norma Gaetani d’Aragona di Cirigliano

author: Giorgia Tortora