Western Development Museum launches virtual escape room
The various Western Development Museum locations in the province have faced a bit of a dilemma throughout the ongoing pandemic.
How do you remain in the public eye and offer a look at history when few, if any, visitors are allowed through your doors? The answer? Simple. You bring the museum to them, and in a unique format at that.
The North Battleford branch of the WDM is currently running a virtual escape room featuring their on-site Heritage Farm and Village, offering a look at their different exhibits while bringing a bit of a challenge to the process.
Entitled “The Last Key,” participants will virtually enter the various buildings found in the village and farm, looking to solve puzzles and find six keys that will allow them to “escape” the facility. “We are super excited to launch the very first WDM Virtual escape room,” said Cheryl Stewart-Rahm, education and public programs coordinator in North Battleford. “We wanted to find a way that everyone could explore the Heritage Farm and Village, especially those who don’t live in North Battleford. The escape room is loads of fun and you will be able to visit some of the exhibits in the Heritage Farm and Village, virtually of course.” Stewart-Rahm’s counterpart in Moose Jaw, Karla Rasmussen, is all for the project given how it expands the WDM’s various local offerings province-wide.
“I think it’s a nice way to give folks that maybe haven’t been to a different location a snapshot of what we all have to offer, because we are so very different,” Rasmussen said. “Each one of us have themes, but each one of those is different as well. There’s some overlap in some areas, but each have their own really unique exhibits that everyone should have a chance to see, and this can help them do that.”
The escape room is a pilot project put together last summer, with the other three WDM location aiming to follow suit in their own way.
“We’re looking to build a mystery of some sort, but I’m not exactly sure what direction it will take,” Rasmussen. “But we know it’ll be a way to fun way view the museum gallery through the eyes of a story.”
The North Battleford escape room runs until Aug. 31. The cost for WDM members and volunteers is $22.50, non-members $25. You can learn more about “The Last Key” and embark on your quest by visitingwdm.ca/escaperoom.