Transcribe to Survive

Designed in collaboration with Genome BC, this project designed and fabricated a tabletop escape room to teach high school students the complex mechanics of DNA transcription and translation through immersive play, accommodating diverse learning styles and fostering peer-to-peer engagement. By utilizing 3D printing and laser-cut joinery, the components remain easily replicable and repairable within any local makerspace, removing the logistical barriers of traditional educational hardware.

Role: Industrial Designer

Type: Contract Project for Genome British Columbia

Year: 2025

Clue Board

This is a dual-layer board that is made from laser-cut chipboard. The graphic print mimics the top view of the evil scientist's desk to which the players are looking over. On the desk, they can find different clues to help them escape the room the evil scientist had locked them in with poison circulating inside.

Large Puzzle Box

This is the first puzzle box which contains the smaller second box and keychain inside. A combination of different shapes (star, square, circle, triangle, and diamond) are used as the code which can be deciphered by the previous activity with the rearranging the coloured vials in alphabetical order. To unlock the box, players can use the code sequence from the vials of the clue board either top-down or reversed.

Small Puzzle Box

The second puzzle box can be found within the larger first box. Instead of shapes, this puzzle box uses letters deciphered from the clue board in order to open. To unlock the box, players can use the code sequence either top-down or reversed.

DNA/RNA Sequence

This holds the DNA/RNA sequences used to decode the final stages of the game. It helps to swap out DNA slides with RNA slides, depending on the need of the workshop facilitator. The sliding mechanism, unexpectedly also helped in visual alignment for players to not get lost amidst the sea of letters when finding the code, as was evidenced in the playtesting with the internal team.

Its appearance is based off a flow cell in a genome sequencer machine from lab photos used as reference.

A fully 3D-printed version using multicolour printing was then subsequently developed in order to produce two more classroom kits comprising of a total of 12 tabletop escape room sets.