Twisteez craft sculpture wire, we met oh-so-many years ago, and my life has never been quite the same…
But honestly folks, this stuff is a must have for craft projects. Twisteez wire is plastic-coated 24 gauge copper wire. It’s non-toxic, Phthalate free, BPA free, pliable, AND it comes in a number of zippy colors.
I also like Twisteez because, unlike craft stems and sparkle stems, when you cut the wire, there are no sharp ends or shedding. The wire are also more delicate to bend and twist into shapes, like these curly Cheshire Cat grin whiskers:
And it’s not just for kiddie art projects! In researching this post, I learned that Twisteez was invented by 2 artists – Harold and Kiki Rabinowitz – 55 years ago. Together, with their 6 children, it has bloomed into a family-owned business. They have an Instagram with fan photos of the wire in various creative uses…
Twisteez wire is, however, a bit more expensive then the aforementioned pipe cleaners and sparkle stems. It comes in 30″ long strands, bundled together in packs of 50 ($10-$13) and 200 ($35-$42). You can also get 60″ long bundles of 50 for around $23-$30.
But Twisteez’s pliability and versatility make it definitely worth the splurge. Highly recommended!
This entire escape room – the research, the puzzles, the narrative, the props, the logistics – is all Katie’s doing! Her preparations were extensive. She watched escape room videos, visited escape rooms, and had a meeting with game master Rebecca Ross from “Epic Escape Game” in Greenwood Village, Colorado. She bounced clue ideas around with Princeton University student Anna Leader (she of 
Upon entering the room, kids found a large wooden desk with a number of items scattered on it. A teacup, teabag, an old map of London, a magnifying glass, books, photos, trade cards, a key, and an issue of Popular Science.
As I mentioned in the 
Five bottles on the windowsill with scientific labels (Katie filled the bottles with items from her pantry, and hot glued the corks in really, really tight!)…
There was a padlocked wooden box, which was in turn chained to a radiator grate…
Also chained to the radiator (and far, far out of range of the box) was a key that had an unusual letter lock.
Additionally, the room had two signs posted on opposite walls. An alphabet:
And a figurine code. Holmes fans will recognize this as the famous “
The blackboard also contained some clues…
Finally, we had “Do Not Touch” signs posted in the room for over-eager investigators. You’re definitely going to need these…kids tear the rooms up looking for clues!
Here’s how all the clues worked, and the final solution. Hidden inside (and on) the various objects were Dancing Men clues. There was one inside a book:
One on an 
Finally, there was one in a dyspepsia ad in Popular Science.
The last two clues were a little hard to find, so we left hints on the blackboard…
The Dancing Men clues corresponded to the 2 signs on the wall. Each figurine matched a different letter of the alphabet.
Inside the box was an old-fashioned periodic table with the words “I’ve found it!” scrawled on it. Elements hydrogen (H), sodium (Na), oxygen (O), and phosphorous (P) were circled as well.
Kids matched the circled elements to the correct label on the antidote bottle. And we made sure it was an actual antidote. Sodium hydrogen orthophosphate is a saline laxative agent (something Katie’s 11 year-old finds endlessly amusing).
The kids took the bottle to the game master, who confirmed that they had solved the escape room! We had a game master in each room, dropping hints when needed, preventing parents from solving puzzles, and generally keeping kids on task. Here are our 3 amazing game masters, Princeton University students Anna Leader, Anne Merrill, and Erica Choi.
As kids exited the room, the game masters awarded them their choice of a souvenir key to take home!
But wait, you say, what about the photographs, the trade cards, the key on the desk, and all that other writing on the blackboard? Hah HAH! Those are all red herrings, added to throw kids off. Because it wouldn’t be an escape room without red herrings!
Boldly go where no mouse has gone before. We created a rad rodent rocket, then flew it across the library on a mission to the moon! If you are ever looking for an excuse to bust out a pair of walkie-talkies at story time, this project is for you.
Set the mouse aside for a moment. It’s time for the rocket!
The trickiest part of constructing this rocket? Finding the right plastic cups for the “seat” and “cockpit.” The seat cup needs to hold mouse snugly, while still allowing it plenty of head room. I found some 5oz plastic cups that were just perfect.
Use a box cutter to cut a square hole in the lid of your box (if you’re using a tissue box, flip the box over and cut the square in the bottom). You want the hole to be big enough to slide the cup into, but not so big that the cup is in danger of dropping through (mine was 2.5″ x 2.5″). Slide the cup into the hole, then secure it to the box with tape. Place your mouse in the cup.
The cockpit cup needs to be wide enough to cover the hole, yet tall enough for your mouse’s ears. This 9oz clear plastic cocktail cup did the job very nicely.
In the image above, you’ll notice that the cockpit cup is attached to the box with a single piece of tape. This is so you can open and close the hatch of the rocket. If you’d prefer your mouse to be sealed in, add more tape. Next, print and cut the wings template, fold along the dotted lines to create a tab, and attach the tab to the side of the box with tape or hot glue.
To make the rocket’s boosters, twist squares of yellow and red cellophane together, then tape the twists inside a pair of plastic cups (I used white, 3oz plastic cups). Hot glue the cups to the back of the ship.
The nose of the rocket is a cone water cup. We hot glued our cones to unused, 3.5″ paper lids (the kind you get when you buy hot soup). But you can just go with the cone if you’d like.
Decorate the ship with metallic dot stickers, color masking tape, and whatever else strikes your fancy (we flashed things up with silver holographic tape). Also, did you notice the awesome 
Marissa also crafted this awesome Moon Base out of a tissue box, poster board, a 
Marissa and I equipped ourselves with a couple of walkie-talkies. Marissa was Mission Control, stationed in the story time area…
And I was at Moon Base, waaaaay across the library’s cavernous lobby. Marissa and I couldn’t see each other and definitely couldn’t hear each other without using walkie-talkies. This was intentional. We wanted the kids to feel like they were traveling far away.
One-by-one, they were treated to some “walkie-talkie space banter:”
The rocket would navigate the long journey across space…
And successfully touchdown at Moon Base! The pilot could then could select some star stickers to further decorate his/her rocket. I radioed back that the mission had been a success, and requested that the next astronaut prepare for launch.
Of course, while waiting for my next rocket to arrive, I couldn’t help treating Marissa to a few songs through the walkie-talkie: This is Ground Control to Major Tom…You’ve really made the graaade!