If you have a kid, work with kids, or just enjoy binge watching episodes of NOVA, then you’ve no doubt heard of STEM. Short for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, there’s been a real push to get more young people interested in STEM careers – especially young women.
Interest in STEM among teens has dropped in recent years, but new programs are aiming to show young minds just how much potential STEM offers in the long run. One of those programs is a new puzzle/escape room called the Spacetime Cruise that recently opened up in New York.
The room-scale puzzle was created by The Makery, a NYC creative space that welcomes anybody looking to tap into their inner inventor. In the game, players are invited into the cosmos where they’re encouraged to explore the mysteries of space as they’re tasked with hatching a plan to find a way back to present day Earth. Think of the Spacetime Cruise as a cruise ship, only instead of island hopping, you’re galaxy hopping and journeying to different dimensions in space and time.
Of course, escape room experiences are nothing new and have been popping up in cities all over the United States for well over a decade now. While themes of kidnappings, nuclear meltdowns, and zombie outbreaks force adults to work together – or at least attempt to – they may not exactly be family-friendly. Hsing Wei, the experience designer and co-founder of the Makery, sees the Spacetime Cruise as an outlet for people of all ages to put their imaginations to the test.
“I built the Spacetime Cruise because I wanted to give my fellow space-loving geeks a way to immerse themselves in the wonderment of encountering warps in space,” Wei said. “It’s like entering a real-life sci-fi mystery short story.”
Nothing is absolute in space travel, and the team at The Makery has incorporated this into the new puzzle room. Visitors may encounter any number of puzzles on their mission back to Earth, from jumbo circuit boards robotic owls.
With more schools and outside education centers placing a renewed focus on the importance of fostering creativity and interest in STEM among young people, Spacetime Cruise should be a welcomed new experience. The Makery has previously held workshops for girls focusing on 3D modeling and programming wearable technology.
Appointments for Spacetime Cruise are required and can be made on The Makery’s website.
Photo credits: The Makery