An escape room at the Museum of Science and Industry- I never thought I’d return to that museum under those circumstances. The new James Bond exhibit afforded me this unusual and exciting opportunity.
I attended the University of Chicago for my undergrad degree, and many of our school functions, including my graduation reception, happened in the grand hall of the MSI. I always appreciated the chance to explore the unique exhibits – to walk through a German WWII submarine, take a tour through a coal mine, and wander through a luxurious old train. I hadn’t been to the museum since my undergrad- quite a long time ago!
The details on the Bond escape room were scant – sharing little more than the time and place. It was enough for me- the weekend slots were fully booked, so we signed up for a Thursday night. Chicago traffic is brutal, and I sweated a little watching our expected arrival time get nearer and nearer to our game start time. Thankfully, we allowed a huge buffer. We needed it.
The game was a bit more like a scavenger hunt than an escape room. Players received a pamphlet with clues that needed to be used at various museum exhibits to solve a set of riddles. The middle four could be solved in any order, with an intro puzzle to start and a finale “metapuzzle” to conclude things. Players were released into the museum in sets of around 10, but once inside, the game was untimed, with no reward for solving quickly.
None of the puzzles were particularly complex or challenging, but it was nice exploring the museum for the first time in a long time. One of the exhibits, an exhibit featuring storms and weather, was new since the last time I had been to the MSI. I also don’t remember ever having gone through a mirror maze – one of the other exhibits hiding clues.
The games had a fun gimmick where each set of riddles was attributed to a various metal / body part combination (Goldfinger, Leadfoot, Ironface, etc.). This relationship was used in a really fun way in the final metapuzzle.
The solution to the last puzzle could be used to open a safe and get a “I won!” sticker. I was a bit disappointed there wasn’t a little more fanfare, or even a competitive element- it would have been easy enough to have a different safe for each group of incoming contestants and one special prize per safe.
One of the best surprises of the day was that players were invited to explore the Science of James Bond exhibit. The exhibit was more about the movies than the science, but there was still a lot of neat stuff. Seeing props like the golden gun and Moonraker laser, as well as signature Bond vehicles, was quite awesome. My favorite part may have been the car that set the record for most barrel rolls in Casino Royale.
The exhibit did have some neat Cold War artifacts used in covert surveillance – it was really fun seeing the comparison between fiction and fact. There were also a few challenges to test your spy skills, but they were quite simple- probably intended for children.
The event was a lot of fun, and I appreciate the Museum of Science and Industry trying something new to draw attention to an exhibit. Even though it wasn’t a true escape room by most definitions, any time I can explore one of my favorite museums with added puzzles is a win!
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