We can't die!
Families' emotions in an escape room game at Espacio Ciencia (Montevideo, Uruguay)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35362/issn.1850-0013-884Keywords:
escape room, learning experiences, meaningful experiences, emotional responses, informal educationAbstract
Recent studies in the field of informal education have demonstrated the driving role of emotions in learning. To understand how emotions relate to meaningful and learning experiences, we analyzed the conversations and interactions of eight families (a total of 37 people, including 17 children) during their participation in an escape room game at Espacio Ciencia, in Montevideo, Uruguay. Data was collected using a subjective camera and analyzed using Dedoose software to organize emotions. The results show that the escape game studied aroused positive and negative emotions with a high degree of activation, the most frequent being: amusement, excitement, surprise, satisfaction, stress, and frustration, demonstrating that the escape game was perceived as fun and enjoyable. Together, these emotions stimulated and challenged families to complete the tasks of the escape game, using their intuition, creativity, and knowledge to complete the tasks of the escape game. In turn, the mediators, by providing explanations, developed an understanding of scientific concepts and in solving the challenges of the game. In summary, our results show that emotions were associated with families’ interest and active participation.
Downloads
References
Ainley, Mary, Hidi, Suzanne & Berndorff, Dagmar (2002). Interest, learning, and the psychological processes that mediate their relationship. Journal of Educational Psychology, 94(3), 545–561. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.94.3.545.
Aguiar Ibanes, Bruna, Massarani, Luisa, Scalfi, Graziele, Gonçalves, Waneicy, Araujo Magalhães, Juliana & da Silva Barros, Juliane (2025). Emoções e Ciência: uma análise das conversas e interações de famílias durante visitas espontâneas ao Museu da Natureza (Piauí, Brasil). Anais do Museu Paulista, 33(1), 1-34. DOI: https://doi.org/10.11606/1982-02672025v33e33.
Barrett, Lisa Feldman (2017). How emotions are made: The secret life of the brain. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Borrego, Carlos, Fernández, Cristina, Blanes, Ian & Robles, Sergi (2017). Room escape at class: escape games activities to facilitate the motivation and learning in computer science. Journal of Technology and Science Education, 7(2), 162-171. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3926/jotse.247.
Briseño-Garzón, Adriana & Anderson, David A. (2012). Review of Latin American perspectives on museums and museum learning. Museum Management and Curatorship, 27(2), 161-177. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09647775.2012.674321.
Clauson, Angela, Hahn, Lindsay, Frame, Tracy, Hagan, Angela, Bynum, Leigh Ann, Thompson, Marilyn E. & Kiningham, Kelley (2019). An innovative escape room activity to assess student readiness for advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPEs).
Curr. Pharm. Teach. Learn., 11(7), 723-728. DOI: https://www.doi.org/10.1016/j.cptl.2019.03.011.
Davies, Sarah R. (2019). Science Communication as Emotion Work: Negotiating curiosity and Wonder at a Science Festival. Science as Culture, 28(4), 538–561. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09505431.2019.1597035.
Daza, Sandra Maria Caridad & Fernández-Sánchez, María Rosa (2019). Gamificando el aula universitaria. Análisis de una experiencia de escape room em educación superior. REXE 2019, 18, 105–115. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21703/rexe.20191836sierra15.
Doering, Zahava D. & Pekarik, Andrew J. (1996). Questioning the Entrance Narrative. Journal of Museum Education, 21(3), 20–23. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10598650.1996.11510333.
Duan, Ruoyu Jenny, Walker, Grahan J. & Orthia, Lindy A. (2021). Interest, emotions, relevance: viewing science centre interactive exhibit design through the lens of situational interest. International Journal of Science Education, Part B, 11(3), 191-209. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/21548455.2021.1938740.
Ekman, Paul (1993). Facial expression and emotion. American Psychologist, 48(4), 384–392. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.48.4.384.
Falk, John Howard (2009). Identity and the Museum Visitor Experience. Nova York: Routledge.
Falk, John Howard (2018). Born to Choose: Evolution, Self and Wellbeing. Londres: Routledge.
Falk, John Howard (2021). The value of museums: enhancing societal well-being. Londres: Rowman & Littlefield.
Falk, John Howard & Dierking, Lynn Diane (2014). The museum experience revisited. Walnut Creek: Left Coast Press.
Farrow, C. Ben & Wetzel, Eric (2020). An Active Learning Classroom in Construction Management Education: Student Perceptions of Engagement and Learning. International Journal of Construction Education and Research, 17(4), 299-317. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15578771.2020.1757536.
Franse, Rooske K., van Schijindel, Tessa J. P., Plankman, Tamara I. & Raijmakers, Maartje E. J. (2021). Families’ experiments and conversations at an open‐ended exhibit in a science museum: individual characteristics and the influence of minimal guidance strategies. Science learning in everyday life, 105(4). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/sce.21620.
Gu, Simeng, Wang, Fushun, Patel, Nitesh P., Bourgeois, James A. & Huang, Jason H. (2019). A Model for Basic Emotions Using Observations of Behavior in Drosophila. Frontiers in Psychology, 10(781), 1-13. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00781.
Hall, Sophie S., McGill, Ross M., Puttick, Steven & Maltby, John (2022). Resilience, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), and anger: A linguistic inquiry into the psychological processes associated with resilience in secondary school STEM learning. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 92(1), 1215-1238. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/bjep.12496.
Harackiewicz, Judith M., Barron, Kenneth E. & Elliot, Andrew J. (1998). Rethinking Achievement Goals: When Are Thety Adaptive for College Students and Why? Education Psychologist, 33(1), 1-21. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1207/s15326985ep3301_1.
Hoffmann, Stefan & Doan, Stacey. N. (2018). The social foundations of emotion: Developmental, cultural, and clinical dimensions. Washington DC: American Psychological Association.
Humaine (2008). Humaine Emotion Annotation and Representation Language. Disponível em: https://web.archive.org/web/20080411092724/http://emotion-research.net/projects/humaine/earl.
Jack, Rachel E., Garrod, Oliver G. B. & Schyns, Philippe G. (2014). Dynamic facial expressions of emotion transmit an evolving hierarchy of signals over time. Current biology, 24(2), 187-192. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2013.11.064.
Jeong, Jin Su., González-Gómez, David & Cañada-Cañada, Florentina (2019). How does a flipped classroom course affect the affective domain toward science course? Interactive Learning Environments, 29(1), 1-13. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10494820.2019.1636079.
Kasper, Gabriele & Wagner, Johannes (2014). Conversation Analysis in Applied Linguistics. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 34(1), 171–212. DOI: https://10.1017/S0267190514000014.
Kuchynka, Sophie, Reifsteck, Tina V., Gates, Alexander E. & Rivera, Luis M. (2021). Developing self-efficacy and behavioral intentions, among underrepresented students in STEM: the role of active learning. Frontiers in Education, 6, 668239. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2021.668239.
LATU (2023). Espacio Ciencia LATU (EC LATU). Disponível em: https://grupomccac.org/guia/uruguai/espacio-ciencia-latu/.
Macías-Guillén, Almudena, Díez, Raquel Montes, Serrano-Luján, Lucia & Borrás-Gené, Oriol (2021). Educational Hall Escape: Increasing Motivation and Raising Emotions in Higher Education Students. Education Sciences, 11(9), 527. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11090527.
Massarani, Luisa, Chagas, Catarina, Rocha, Luana, Rowe, Shawn & Fontaneto, Renata (2019a). Children’s protagonism in a science exhibition: an exploratory study of an exhibition in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). Research in Science Education, 51(1), 1307-1324. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-019-09886-w.
Massarani, Luisa, Mucci Poenaru, Lara, Norberto Rocha, Jessica, Rowe, Shawn & Sigrid, Falla (2019b). Adolescents learning with exhibits and explainers: The case of Maloka. International Journal of Science Education, Part B, 9(3), 253-267. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/21548455.2019.1646439.
Massarani, Luisa, Scalfi, Graziele, Neves, Rosicler, Dahmouche, Monica S. & Bento, Luiz (2023). Family visits to a biodiversity exhibit: An analysis of emotional responses during free visits and visits mediated by explainers. Cultures of Science, 6(2), 214-234. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/20966083231183255.
May, Sarah, Todd, Katie, Daley, Samantha G. & Rappolt-Schlichtmann, Gabrielle (2021). Measurement of Science Museum Visitors’ Emotional Experiences at Exhibits Designed to Encourage Productive Struggle. Curator: The Museum Journal, 64(4), 1-25. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/cura.12449.
Mazzanti, Paolo (2021). Emotions inside/out museums. Em Paolo Mazzanti & Margherita Sani (Orgs.), Emotions and Learning in Museums (6-13). Berlin: Network of European Museum Organisations.
Medeiros, Israel A. Ananias de, Neres, Raimundo L., Sousa, Ruimar N., Rodrigues, Rosângela S. de, Silva, Valter A. de & Vieira, Francisco Chagas das (2021). O uso da ferramenta digital escape room como recurso de ensino e aprendizagem de matemática nos anos finais do ensino fundamental. Brazilian Journal of Development, 7(4), 37840-37851. DOI: https://doi.org/10.34117/bjdv7n4-309.
Munna, Afzal S. & Kalam, Md Abul (2021). Impact of Active Learning Strategy on the Student Engagement. Gnosi: an interdisciplinar jornal of human theory and práxis, 4(2), 96-114. Disponível em: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED614302.pdf.
Mussell, Linda, Walby, Kevin & Piché, Justin (2023). ‘Sadly, my group was “hanged” at the end of the evening’: the politics of deservingness and representation at carceralthemed escape rooms. Leisure/Loisir, 47(3), 431-457. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14927713.2022.2159865.
Mystakidis, Stylianos & Christopoulos, Athanasios (2022). Teacher perceptions on virtual reality escape rooms for STEM education. Information, 13(3), 136. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/info13030136.
Nicholson, Scott (2015). Peeking behind the locked door: A survey of escape room facilities. Cambridge: MIT School of Humanities Arts and Social Sciences. Disponível em: https://scottnicholson.com/pubs/erfacwhite.pdf.
Nicholson, Scott (2018). Creating Engaging escape rooms for the Classroom. Childhood Education, 94, 44-49. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00094056.2018.1420363.
Nicholson, Scott & Cable, Liz (2021). Unlocking the potential of puzzle-based learning: Designing escape rooms and games for the classroom. SAGE Publications.
Organização das Nações Unidas (2015). Transformando o nosso mundo: A Agenda 2030 para o Desenvolvimento Sustentável. Disponível em: https://brasil.un.org/ptbr/sdgs.
Pan, Rui, Lo, Henry & Neustaedter, Carman (2017). Collaboration, Awareness, and Communication in Real-Life escape rooms. Proceedings of the 2017 Conference on Designing Interactive Systems. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3064663.306476.
Peleg, Ran, Yayon, Malka, Katchevich, Dvora, Moria-Shipony, Mor & Blonder, Ron (2019). A Lab-Based Chemical Escape Room: Educational, Mobile, and Fun! Journal of Chemical Education, 96(5), 1-6. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.8b00406.
Pekrun, Reinhard (2024). Control‑Value Theory: From Achievement Emotion to a General Theory of Human Emotions. Educational Psychology Review, 36(83), 1-36. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-024-09909-7.
Pekrun, Reinhard & Perry, Raymond P. (2014). Control-value theory of achievement emotions. Em Reinhard Pekrun & Lisa Linnenbrink-Garcia (Orgs.), International handbook of emotions in education. Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group.
Perakyla, Anssi & Sorjonen, Marja-Leena (2012). Emotion in interaction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Plutchik, Robert (2001). The Nature of Emotions: Human emotions have deep evolutionary roots, a fact that may explain their complexity and provide tools for clinical practice. American Scientist, 89(4), 344-350. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1511/2001.28.344.
Rowe, Anna D. & Fitness, Julie (2018). Understanding the Role of Negative Emotions in Adult Learning and Achievement: A Social Functional Perspective. Behaviour Science, 8(27), 1-20. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/bs8020027.
Russell, James A. & Barrett, Lisa Feldman (1999). Core affect, prototypical emotional episodes, and other things called emotion: Dissecting the elephant. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76(5), 805–819. DOI: https://10.1037/0022-3514.76.5.805.
Scalfi, Graziele, Massarani, Luisa, Gonçalves, Waneicy, Chagas Andrade Aparecida, Adriana & Bizerra, Alessandra (2023). Emotional responses from families visiting the zoo: a study at Parque das Aves in Foz do Iguaçu. Journal of Science Communication, 22(05), A05. DOI: https://doi.org/10.22323/2.22050205.
Scalfi, Graziele, Massarani, Luisa, Gonçalves, Waneicy & Marandino, Martha (2022). Emoções e museus de ciência: um estudo com visitas de famílias ao Museu de Microbiologia do Instituto Butantan, São Paulo. Revista Brasileira de Pesquisa em Educação em Ciências, 22(1), 1-38. Disponível em: https://www.redalyc.org/journal/5716/571674320045/html/.
Shaby, Neta, Dillon, Justin, Peleg, Ran, Ben-Zvi Assaraf, Orit, Pattinson, Scott, Pierroux, Palmyre et al. (2025). Telling tales: the use of narratives in informal STEM settings. Research in Science & Technological Education, 1(1), 1-22. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02635143.2025.2469065.
Smith, Karen & Davies, Joanne (2010). Qualitative data analysis. Em Lena Dahlberg & Colin McCaig (Orgs.), Practical Research and Evaluation: A Start-to-Finish Guide for Practitioners (145-158). Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications.
Tapay-Pulla, Luis Patricio & Ávila-Mediavilla, Carlos Marcelo (2022). Escape room como estrategia metodológica para el desarrollo del razonamiento lógico matemático em la carrera de Educación Básica. Polo del Conocimiento, 7(10), 862-884. DOI: https://doi.org/10.23857/pc.v7i10.4761.
Veldkamp, Alice, Knipples, Marie-Christine P. J. & van Joolingen, Wouter R. (2021). Beyond the early adopters: escape rooms in science education. Frontiers in Education, 6(1), 622860. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2021.622860.
Veldkamp, Alice, van de Grint, Liesbeth, Knipples, Marie-Christine P. J. & van Joolingen, Wouter R. (2020). Escape education: a systematic review on escape rooms in education. Educational Research Review, 31(1), 100364. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2020.100364.
Vidergor, Hava E. (2021). Effects of digital escape room on gameful experience, collaboration, and motivation of elementary school students. Computers & Education, 166(1), 104156. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2021.104156.
Vygotsky, Lev S. (1998). Formação social da mente. São Paulo: Martins Fontes.
Yachin, Tal & Barak, Miri (2024). Science-Based Educational Escape Games: A Game Design Methodology. Research in Science Education, 54(1), 299-313. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-023-10143-4.
Yin, Robert K. (2014). Case Study Research: Design and Methods. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
Yllana-Prieto, Félix, González-Gómes, David & Jeong, Jin Su (2023). Influence of two educational escape room– Breakout tools in PSTs’ affective and cognitive domain in STEM (science and mathematics) courses. Biotechnology and bioengineering hub, 9(1), e12795. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e12795.
Yllana-Prieto, Félix, Jeong, Jin Su. & González-Gómez, David (2021a). Virtual escape room and STEM content: effects on the affective domain on teacher trainees. Journal of Technology and Science Education, 11(2), 331-342. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3926/jotse.1163.
Yllana-Prieto, Félix, Jeong, Jin Su & González-Gómez, David (2021b). An onlinebased edu-escape room: a comparision study of a multidimensional domain of PSTs with flipped sustainability-STEM contentes. Sustainability, 13(3), 1032. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su13031032.
Zembylas, Michalinos (2007). Emotional ecology: The intersection of emotional knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge in teaching. Teaching and Teacher Education, 23(1), 355-367. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2006.12.002.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 CC Attribution 4.0
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
All CTS's issues and academic articles are under a CC-BY license.
Since 2007, CTS has provided open and free access to all its contents, including the complete archive of its quarterly edition and the different products presented in its electronic platform. This decision is based on the belief that offering free access to published materials helps to build a greater and better exchange of knowledge.
In turn, for the quarterly edition, CTS allows institutional and thematic repositories, as well as personal web pages, to self-archive articles in their post-print or editorial version, immediately after the publication of the final version of each issue and under the condition that a link to the original source will be incorporated into the self-archive.
