# STEM Escape: Immersing urban and rural families in a biomedical mystery

> **NIH NIH R25** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY · 2023 · $259,615

## Abstract

Escape rooms are an engaging and increasingly popular game format in which a team of
players is “locked” in a room and challenged to solve a series of narrative-embedded puzzles encoded
in the room's artifacts in order to “escape” within a set period of time. The University of California
Museum of Paleontology, with partners University of Kansas Natural History Museum and the California
Academy of Sciences, aim to develop, evaluate, and disseminate a “serious game” (i.e., a game
designed for a purpose other than entertainment) based on the escape room model. Our
traveling/loanable pop-up escape room and associated extension activities will engage diverse families
(ages 8 and up) in museums and libraries in solving a biomedical mystery that teaches fundamental
concepts in biology, engages critical-thinking and collaboration skills, and stimulates interest in
biomedical careers. STEM Escape will address NGSS-aligned content central to medical research – in
particular, it will communicate basic concepts regarding evolutionary relationships, a topic with
relevance to a wide variety of medical applications, such as determining the source of emerging
infectious diseases, tracking the progression of disease within a host, and identifying new medicines.
 The project is designed to lay the groundwork for extended family interactions surrounding
scientific content and biomedical careers. The immersive game will be supplemented by a set of solo
and docent-led follow-up activities that reinforce key concepts and emphasize connections between
players' experience in the game and biomedical research careers. Learners will also receive takeaway
media (e.g., activity book) that highlights a diverse set of NIH-funded researchers whose work directly
relies on evolutionary patterns/processes. Caregivers will have the option of receiving a follow-up email
with free at-home activities. The themed inflatable pop-up room will be wheelchair-accessible and all
materials will be bilingual in English and Spanish.
 The STEM Escape experience will be developed with and for the diverse audiences visiting
urban/suburban natural history museums and libraries, as well as with and for rural families, whom we
will reach through rural libraries. The project will also produce and evaluate a suite of support materials
to facilitate institutional adoption and deployment of the experience. Nine host sites across the country
have committed to hosting the room (with an additional two sites in the planning stages), and after the
life of the grant, the room will continue to make an impact as a rentable traveling exhibit. Long term, this
project will improve the public's understanding of medically relevant evolutionary content, increase
interest in biomedical careers, particularly among underserved groups targeted, and improve our
understanding of how immersive games can be used to serve educational objectives.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10663933
- **Project number:** 5R25GM132971-05
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY
- **Principal Investigator:** Lisa Diane White
- **Activity code:** R25 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $259,615
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-08-01 → 2025-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10663933

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10663933, STEM Escape: Immersing urban and rural families in a biomedical mystery (5R25GM132971-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10663933. Licensed CC0.

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