Fall is my favorite season. Escape rooms are some of my favorite activities to plan. So I was excited this year to create a fall escape room game. With pumpkins, colorful trees and leaves you can easily make your own escape room for fall.
This DIY escape room mixes some hands-on clues with printable puzzles. The printables featured are available for FREE from the Resource Library to save you time and money! More information on how to access the printables today, is available after all of the escape room clues.
As you make your own escape room for fall, keep in mind that although the clues are fall themed, you could do this escape room game any time of year. All of the puzzles could also be substituted for another puzzle for another season or celebration.
A unique feature of these escape room ideas is that it includes a science experiment, math, language and more all in one!
As a parent I love creating escape room game because my kids enjoy them, but they are also something different and fun that we can do together.
As a teacher, I see the educational benefits in every escape room. From problem solving and team work to thinking outside the box and strategizing, there is a lot of learning that happens during these games.
If you’re looking for more ways to celebrate Halloween in the classroom or at home, check out a free Classroom Scavenger Hunt or free Scavenger Hunt at home.
Make Your Own Escape Room for Fall Materials
Going to an escape room can be expensive, and it can also be hard to find ones that are appropriate and fun for kids. Creating your own escape room at home on the other hand, can be inexpensive and you can include clues that you know your players/kids will love.
When you make your own escape room for fall, there are a few materials that you need for your game. Some of the puzzles use materials that you can find around the house, other materials you may need to purchase. If you want to try a different puzzle for one of the ideas, or simply cannot get the materials needed for a certain puzzle, check out this collection of over 40 DIY escape room ideas at home.
If you are excited about creating an escape room and think that you may create more in the future, if you do purchase some materials, many of them can be used again and again in escape rooms.
For your Fall Escape Room, you will need:
- “Make Your Own Escape Room for Fall” printables (Free download information below)
- Eye Droppers
- Vinegar
- Baking Soda
- Pumpkin
- Lockable Box x3
- Plastic Baggies x3 or more
- Permanent Markers
- Lock + Key
- Combination Lock
- UV Light
- Dry Erase Board or Dry Erase Pocket Sheet
- Food Coloring (Optional)
With any escape room, you are best to find at least five great puzzles that you want to use and then connect them together. If there are clues in this fall escape room that you don’t feel will work well for you, check out my collection of over 40 DIY escape room puzzles.
If you find another puzzle you prefer, add it to the escape room or substitute it for another one.
Fall Escape Room Ideas – Set Up
Once you have all of your puzzles prepared, it is up to you how you decorate or prepare the room your game will take place in. You can use virtually any room and simply place the puzzles throughout.
You can also add to the excitement and theme by decorating the room with other fall items. For example, I used a colorful tablecloth with fall leaves on it and had apples, pumpkins and corn set throughout the room.
Depending how hard you want to make the room, adding these extra items can not only add to the overall atmosphere but also add to the challenge by making it harder for players to figure out which items are meaningful, or not.
I typically play a timer/music in the background as players enter and one hour is a good time limit. With young children, or children who have never done an escape room before, you don’t have to set a timer.
You can simply let them enjoy solving the puzzles with out feeling the pressure to ‘escape’ in time.
Make Your Own Escape Room for Fall – Welcome Letter
I will guide you through the room, from the first clue to the last as though you were in the escape room yourself. The words in italics help to explain the clue for the person preparing it.
Clue #1
Upon entering the room, you notice a piece of paper with a colorful tree and the words “Welcome” and “Open Me” on the front.
This first page with the tree is attached to the second page and stapled or taped at the sides. It is then cut down the middle on the dotted line.
You open the page and read the message inside.
You discover that you must solve all of the clues in order to escape and you only have one hour! The message also tells you that there are nine eye droppers that are significant for your first clue.
You have to pay close attention when you drop the liquid onto the letters AUTUMN. If something happens then you know the number is important.
Clue #2
You quickly find the droppers, each filled with some liquid. You also notice the word AUTUMN made out of a white substance. This matches the clue so you get ready to start dropping the liquid onto the letters.
The eye droppers each have a number on them. Three of the eye droppers will be filled with vinegar. The rest are filled with water. I added some food coloring just for fun, but it is not necessary.
The “AUTUMN” is made from baking soda, water and food coloring. Mix baking soda and water together to the consistency of melted ice cream and then fill the letters.
For a more detailed instructions of how this science experiment works, visit my Fizzing Apples Science Experiment.
I used a silicone letter mold and filled the letters for AUTUMN and left them to dry overnight. Once they are hard, you can carefully pop them out.
I placed a layer of the baking soda, water mixture in a tray and placed the letters on top. (You need to add a key to the base layer before it dries for a later clue.)
Fizzing Clue
Whatever the code for your number lock, fill the eye droppers with the those numbers with vinegar. For example, my number lock code is 137 so the eye droppers with the 1, 3 and 7 printed on them have vinegar in them. The others are just filled with water.
With the eye dropper with the number one printed on top, you carefully drop a few drops onto the letter T of AUTUMN.
You immediate listen and see that the drop fizzes and pops. This means that the number 1 is important and part of the code to get your next clue!
You continue doing with same with each of the eye droppers. The number 2 does not cause a reaction at all, but the 3 and 7 do.
You use the numbers 1,3, and 7 to try on the lock – it works and opens the box!
Fall Escape Room Number Lock Code
Depending on your lock combination, players may have to try out several lock combinations before they are able to open it. This is part of the fun! For younger players you could give them an extra clue to help them out.
If your number lock has two numbers that are the same, such as 422, then you can add a few extra eye droppers or put the number 2 on two different droppers.
Make Your Own Escape Room for Fall Clue #3
You open the box and find a pumpkin! Inside the pumpkin is a container with seeds. There is also a printed page with boxes and pictures of leaves. You look around the room to try to figure out what do to with this pumpkin clue!
There is no specific instructions on what to do with the seeds, so you decide to count them!
Empty your pumpkin out and set the seeds aside. Keep as many seeds as you want your players to have to count for their next puzzle.
Fall Escape Room Ideas Clue #4
After counting the seeds and discovering that there are 175 seeds, you look around the room to find if the number is significant. You check any locks left in the room, but nothing works!
You then notice the plastic baggies on the table that each have a number on them. One of the bags has the number 175 on it! That must be the bag you need.
This clue can take a little bit of time to prepare because you need to cut out the leaves. This printable is included for free with the others from this fall escape room. Cut each of the leaves out and print the message on the correct leaves.
I left the circles blank on the printable leaves in case you choose to change your clue or puzzle and make it different from mine. Print random letters on any leaves not used for your clue.
Print a few pages of the leaves and place the cut outs in a bag with a number on it. You need a few bags with random letters on the leaves in order to create some challenge for players. This way they don’t know which bag and collection of letters to use right away.
Only the bag with the correct number has the correct letters on the leaves to solve the clue.
You match the leaves in the bag to the pictures of the leaves on the sheet.
Once you have matched each of the leaves, you print the letter on each leaf into the box above the leaf. You spell out the words “Key in Autumn”
You look around for where to use this clue and where you have seen autumn before to start looking for a key!
Alternate Material Idea for Clue #5
If you want to make your own escape room for fall have more authentic materials, you can use actual leaves for this puzzle. Grab an assortment of leaves, trace them and print a letter onto each to spell out the code.
Escape Room Ideas Clue #6
This puzzle is unique in that it requires players to go back to a previous clue and look closer at it. This puzzle only works if players did not search through the baking soda mixture when they used the eye droppers.
Only include a bit of water/vinegar in the droppers to help reduce how wet and mixed up this clue gets at the beginning. Hide the key under one of the letters so that it is not easily revealed.
You realize that you have already seen the word “AUTUMN” in this escape room. But you have already used the eye droppers and made the mixture fizz. You decide to check out the clue again anyways in case you missed something.
As you dig through the mixture, you notice something under the letter A. As you move the mixture around, you notice a key under the letter.
You quickly grab the key and bring it to a locked box in the room.
Fall Escape Room Clue #7
Upon opening the box you discover a wipeable board with dots and numbers, a code sheet with lots of numbers, a maze and a write and wipe markers and a UV pen.
You can easily create the dot/number board by creating a 6×6 box of 36 dots and then numbering each of the dots. I used permanent marker on a wipeable board, but you can also use a sheet of paper and have players use a pencil and eraser.
You notice the the numbers on the code sheet are also on the wipeable board. You start by connecting the dots using the numbers on the code sheet.
You’re onto something! By connecting the first numbers you create the letter G. You continue on through each of the number combinations to solve the puzzle.
When you are done, you have created a bunch of letters that spell out “Go through the red leaves”.
Now the maze makes sense! There are a bunch of red leaves throughout the maze that you now know to go through them to solve this clue.
Escape Room Ideas Clue #8
You find the “Start” and move to the first red leaf. As you pass the leaf you go through the letter “S”. You continue through the maze and write down each letter you pass through by only passing through red leaves.
You avoid all of the green, yellow and other colored leaves and finally reach the end. Looking at all of the letters you went through you spell out, “Shine on Welcome Leaves”.
This clue is tricky, but all you have left that you haven’t used is a UV pen so you figure that you will need to use it. The clue says shine on so you turn out the light on the UV pen and get ready to shine it!
When reading the word welcome you remember that it said welcome on the pages when you first entered the room. There was also a tree! You quickly shine your light on the cover of the page with the tree.
Make Your Own Escape Room for Fall Clue #9
Print the numbers for your final lock onto the tree. The UV pen is invisible in regular light so players will have no way of seeing the numbers before this clue.
You shined the light and it worked! The numbers 1234 appear on the tree!
You use the code to check the lock on the final locked box…and it opens!
Clue #10
Once you open the box, you notice your escape room completion certificate and a small prize! You did it, you escaped!
You can place whatever you like in the final box. It can be a small treat or prize or it can simply be the completion certifications that are included for free.
When you make your own escape room for fall, you can change puzzles and guide players in any way you choose. When you are creating it on your own you have the flexibility to try whatever works for you!
If this is your first escape room you have created, expect a few things to not go as planned. A clue may not work or a step may be accidently left out. That’s okay. You will be supervising and there to help players as much or as little as you want.
Don’t be afraid to redirect players when needed or give them a clue if you choose to. Keep the experience fun!
Supporting players is great, but avoid helping players as soon as they get stuck on a clue. The learning and fun come from trying different possibilities and solutions. Don’t jump in to help too fast.
Most of all, have FUN!
Make Your Own Escape Room for Fall Printables
Join Hands-On Teaching Ideas to gain access to the free resource library, filled with printable resources and activities. From math worksheets and choice boards to escape room games and crafts, the library is always growing!
By subscribing you will also be the first to find out about my latest products and activity ideas.
Download all of the printable pages featured in this post for free from the Free Resource Library today!
Print and Play Fall Escape Room
If you are looking to make another escape room for fall, try my print and play Halloween and fall escape room. The game can quickly be set up in minutes and plays almost like a board game. However, the final clue will get players out of their chairs to find the prize.
You don’t need any special materials for this escape room, simply print and play!
For your convenience, this post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases and I may earn a small commission at no cost to you.
More Hands-On Teaching Ideas
If you are looking for more learning activities for children to get kids excited about learning, check out this collection of hands-on teaching ideas below. From free escape room games and printable puzzles, there is lots to keep kids busy and learning!
Leave a Reply