Tyrone can add yet another “Backyard Brawl” title to it’s list of triumphs over its long-time rival Bellwood.

The Tyrone High School Math Department and the Tyrone High School Student Council both etched their names into the record book at Bellwood’s new escape room, The Hidden Exit.

“The [Tyrone math department] was the first group to actually get out of the room, and they had almost two minutes to spare,” said Bellwood’s Director of Instructional Technology Jamie Forshey, “and one of the Tyrone student council groups were the first students to collect all the coins need to escape.”

The Tyrone teachers enjoyed the experience and were very impressed with Bellwood’s new escape room.

“It was interesting to see how six alpha personalities were able to work together to solve the puzzles,” said math teacher Chris Shedd. “No one’s ego got in the way, and we worked together very well.”

Following the teacher’s trip, members of the Tyrone student council also went to the escape room to see if their skills could match the teacher’s.

Sophomore Aden McCracken was one of the students on the successful Tyrone student council team.

“We all worked on our own and did our own thing. That was the key. We were so all over the place, but we did it,” said  McCracken, “It was really cool. The room looked amazing. I didn’t think a school could do something like that.”

While only one of Tyrone’s groups made it out, those that did were the first student group to ever complete all 24 of the challenges.

But even the students who didn’t “escape” had fun trying.

“We didn’t get all of the coins, but we were really close,” said student council member Reagan Wood. “We were all about to beat each other up from frustration, but we had a lot of fun. I really liked it.”

An escape room is an adventure-style party game designed with puzzles and clues that must be solved in order to exit the room. Participants are given a set amount of time to collect a number of clues hidden within the room. Games are usually set in a a fictional locations or eras in time and the puzzles and riddles follow the room’s theme.

The idea for The Hidden Exit came from Forshey and her students. They applied for and received a grant from Real World Scholars, an organization that promotes student entrepreneurship in schools. The group used the $1,000 grant to start the business within their school.

Bellwood’s escape room is designed for three to seven players and takes up to one hour. It has a 1970’s theme with retro televisions, wall phones, and lots of funky 1970s era furniture to give it an authentic “back in the day” feel.

“We did a lot of shopping at flea markets and a lot of people gave us stuff that was actually from the 70’s,” said Forshey.

The goal is to collect 24 coins that are used to “pay” for the key needed to escape the ’70s.

Many of the tasks are logic-based puzzles which participants must solve in order to earn codes that unlock combination locks, which then lead to other puzzles and clues.

The room is operated by students during the school day and on select evenings. During school hours it is available to Bellwood students who have a study hall. In the evenings and weekends it is open to the public by appointment only.

Tyrone’s math teachers first learned about The Hidden Exit at a county-wide teacher professional development day in Altoona. Bellwood staff and students presented their escape room business plan to area teachers and administrators at the in-service.

According to Forshey, The Hidden Exit is a great team building activity for families, friends, coworkers and for school field trips. The cost is $10 per person. To book a time call Jamie Forshey, Director of Instructional Technology at 814.742.2273 or email [email protected].

To download their flier, click below:

Escape the 70s Flyer

Seeing as how Tyrone now holds the record for Bellwood’s escape room, is it safe to say that we have a new version of the “Backyard Brawl” on our hands.

What do you think Bellwood? Are you up for the challenge?