In celebration of Halloween, Memorial High School students engaged in a unique learning experience with the Haunted Hospital Escape Room, designed by Evyn Box, Health Science teacher.
“I was really looking for a way for my students to engage with the content in a fun way,” said Box. “They’ve been wanting to get into the lab and work with the medical mannequins, and so I wanted to find a way to do that with both of the classes I teach, Medical Terminology and Health Science Theory…with Halloween right around the corner, I thought it would be a perfect mix of up-out-of-their-seat, hands-on learning, with a spooky twist!”
The escape room was carefully tailored to the curriculum for both classes. In Health Science Theory, students received five patient “medical charts,” each containing diagnoses, physician orders, diagnostic tests, lab results, and medications. Working in teams, students had five minutes per chart to define medical terms and abbreviations, earning a “clue” for each round. After rotating through all five charts, teams combined their clues to solve the final escape code.
Medical Terminology students focused on the skeletal system, using mannequins as interactive learning stations. Students received clue sheets directing them to specific anatomical locations on the mannequins, where they found word parts or definitions, such as “-algia” for “suffix meaning pain.” Each mannequin had five clues that required correct answers to unlock the alphanumeric escape code.
Box emphasized that her students enjoy interactive, hands-on learning activities.
“Hands-on learning is so helpful for students. When they get the chance to get up out of their seats and participate in learning in a unique and fun way, it helps it to really stick,” said Box. “Medical Terminology is a lot of memorization, basically like learning a new language, so it helps to incorporate fun games that assist in learning the vocabulary and anchoring it to real-world concepts and patient care.”
Students responded enthusiastically, sharing how much fun the Halloween-themed activity was.
“High school students are just big kids, they love playing games, getting to be creative and learn outside of the classroom, so we try to do that as much as possible…This really turned out to be a hit!”
Many students noted that they had participated in escape rooms before and enjoyed the opportunity to combine a game with their academic content.
Creating the Haunted Hospital took creativity and teamwork. Box transformed the health science lab in a single morning before school with the help of her daughter and two freshman friends. Using medical mannequins, spider webs, fake blood handprints, a Halloween-themed soundscape, and red lighting achieved by covering overhead lights with red butcher paper, the lab was transformed into a spooky, immersive environment.
“If you’ve ever been in the lab alone, surrounded by the lifeless forms of medical mannequins in hospital beds, it doesn’t take much to feel a little creeped out. A little bit of work but totally worth it!”
The Haunted Hospital Escape Room helped students review and apply medical content in a memorable, interactive way while embracing the fun of the Halloween season.
Great work, Memorial Panthers!