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Futuristic high-tech laboratory with neon blue and green lighting, sleek metallic surfaces, and robotic arms. A city skyline is visible through the glass walls. A bold title at the top reads "Escape from Laboratory ZYXW – A Classroom Robotics Challenge."
Robotics

Unlock STEM Learning with the “Escape from Laboratory ZYXW” Robotics Challenge

by Peggy Reimers
written by Peggy Reimers

Imagine a room buzzing with excitement as educators tackle a series of puzzles and hands-on engineering tasks. This was the scene at my TCEA 2025 Convention & Exposition learning lab. The Escape from Laboratory ZYXW robotics challenge, where teams worked tirelessly to program LEGO SPIKE Prime robots.

For three action-packed hours, participants raced against the clock, solving eight unique challenges. The atmosphere was electric as they collaborated and problem-solved their way through each obstacle. In a thrilling finish, with just six minutes to spare, the teams successfully “escaped” from Laboratory ZYXW.

This experience showcased the power of teamwork, creativity, and robotics skills in action.

The Awarding of the Escape Medallions at TCEA 2025 Convention & Exposition

Introducing the “Escape from Laboratory ZYXW” Robotics Challenge

I am so excited to release the “Escape from Laboratory ZYXW” robotics challenge materials to teachers and robot enthusiasts. This robotics escape room experience is perfect for:

  • Robotics clubs
  • Technology classes
  • Afterschool programs
  • Summer camps

It’s designed to engage students in grades 3-12, promoting critical thinking, collaboration, and hands-on STEM skills.

The Premise

Imagine a secret lab where humans suddenly gain consciousness. They realize they’re captives and must escape before being “ctrl + alt + deleted.” Can they work together to build tools and break free from the complex systems holding them in?

Challenge Structure

  • 8 total challenges
  • 6 challenges tackled simultaneously by different teams
  • 2 final challenges solved as a whole group

Teams use either LEGO SPIKE Prime or VEX IQ kits to complete the missions.

Eight Exciting Robotics Challenges

Screenshot from the Main Planning Document
  1. Critical Capsule Extraction
    • Tagline: “Navigate, Extract, Secure: Q-Bits Are Your Key!”
    • Task: Design a robot to travel on a pool noodle and touch a container to retrieve crucial Q-Bits.
    • Equipment: Pool noodle (1 or 2), Q-Bits: glass vase gems (something similar) , container, blue tape
  2. Oxygen Release
    • Tagline: “Breathe Free to Break Free!”
    • Task: Create a robot with an extension mechanism to knock Wiffle balls off PVC pipes, releasing vital oxygen.
    • Equipment: 5 PVC couplers, 5 wiffle balls, poster board mat
  3. Operation Highwire
    • Tagline: “Ride the line, deliver the future: Every Q-Bit counts!”
    • Task: Build a robot capable of moving along a cable to transport and drop Q-Bits into a specific container.
    • Equipment: 6 feet nylon rope, structure to tie rope off, poster board for wall, Q-Bit Container (Q-bits will be provided by Challenge #1)
  4. Threaded Fate
    • Tagline: “Match or be crushed!”
    • Task: Construct a drill-like robot to unscrew and transfer nuts between bolts on a board.
    • Equipment: 4 bolts and nuts secured on a board, socket with LEGO motor axle (.stl file provided)
  5. Cylindrical Cipher Retrieval (CCR)
    • Tagline: “Cylindrical Secrets: Grab and Go!”
    • Task: Design a robot with a grabbing mechanism to retrieve a cylinder containing crucial information.
    •  Equipment: Cylinder container/holder, cipher poem,  poster board
  6. Power Core Stabilization
    • Tagline: “Balance the core or face a meltdown!”
    • Task: Create a robot that can spin a top using gears for a specific duration to stabilize the power core.
    •  Equipment: Poster board, a top made out of the LEGO SPIKE Prime wheel
  7. Quantum Cipher Convergence
    • Tagline: “Unite minds, unlock destiny!”
    • Task: Program SPIKE Prime Hubs to display the correct sequence of symbols from the Six Symbol Cipher.
    • Equipment: 6 SPIKE Prime Hubs (1 for each team member or group)
  8. Chromatic Code Sequence
    • Tagline: “Align the spectrum, secure freedom!”
    • Task: Decode and display a precise color sequence on SPIKE Prime Hubs to activate the final escape protocol. (This might have to be changed if using the VEX IQ system.)
    • Equipment: 6 SPIKE Prime Hubs (1 for each team member or group)

Get Access to Lab ZYXW Materials

Challenge 2: Oxygen Release

Email preimers@tcea.org for access to the full set of Lab ZYXW robotics challenge documents, including:

  • Main planning document
  • Slide decks
  • Hint cards with build and programming examples
  • Photos and videos
  • Engineering Design Process Journal
  • 3D printable files for custom parts

Give Credit Where Credit is Due!

The creation of “Escape from Laboratory ZYXW” was inspired by several key influences. James Floyd Kelly’s “The Mayan Adventure” served as a foundational inspiration, demonstrating how storytelling and robotics challenges could be seamlessly integrated.

A big shout-out to Jacob Luevano, LEGO Education Certified Teacher Trainer, whose TCEA 2024 robotics session sparked a circuit board of inspiration in my CPU. His workshop idea was the catalyst that set this whole adventure in motion.

And oh, the adventures I’ve had with my robotics compadre, Kathy Holberg! During our time teaching together at Bastrop ISD, we embarked on countless adventures in guiding fifth and sixth grade students through the maze of coding to powering up teachers with new skill. We’ve been on a non-stop journey of robotic discovery, which goes all the way back – all the way to the days of the LEGO RCX!

Are You Up for the Challenge?

“Escape from Laboratory ZYXW” is your key to unlocking a world of excitement and learning! As a robotics educator, I’ve seen firsthand how robotics challenges electrify students’ minds and supercharge their problem-solving skills.

Picture this: teams racing against the clock, minds whirring faster than robot motors, collaborating to crack codes and engineer solutions. It’s more than a lesson – it’s an adventure that will have them talking (and thinking) long after the bell rings.

So, are you ready to revolutionize your robotics teaching? Grab these materials, fire up LEGO SPIKE Prime or VEX IQ, and watch your students transform into innovative problem-solvers. Let’s code the future and engineer some serious fun!

Go bot or go home!

Peggy

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Make Research More Engaging
LibrariesPlanning and Preparation

Five Ways to Make Research More Engaging

by Claire Reddig
written by Claire Reddig

When most students (and many teachers) hear the word research, they often cringe — maybe they’ve been frustrated in the past while researching or they see research as an isolated academic task that does little to spark intrinsic motivation. As a school librarian, my goal is to transform research projects into opportunities to spark student creativity and tap into intrinsic interest while still effectively teaching foundational researching skills through collaborations with classroom teachers. Here are five ways to make research more engaging in your classroom!

1. Tackle Real-World Challenges

Research projects that reflect real world tasks encourage students to see research as a valuable life skill. For example, a 7th grade science teacher at my school wanted her students to learn more about radioactive elements. We worked together to create several real world research challenges to engage her students.

Our final prompts included one that asked them to pretend they worked at Chernobyl and to take steps to protect their families when they uncovered information about a potential accident. Another challenge asked students to go back in time and share what we know today about x-rays and their radiation with famed scientist Marie Curie. Both challenges required students to engage in more traditional research before applying critical thinking to complete the challenge.

Resources:

Marie Curie ChallengeDownload
Radioactive Survival ScenarioDownload
Nuclear Waste Makerspace ChallengeDownload

2. Get Persuasive

Another type of real-world research encourages students to view their surroundings critically and suggest improvements in a persuasive way. As a 5th grade Language Arts teacher, I ended the year with a persuasive writing unit and, one year, I had students research effective learning spaces. They explored different types of furniture, decorations, lighting, and even layouts. They even collected and compiled their own research data by creating surveys and conducting interviews. Then, they chose a learning space at our school to evaluate based on their research and suggest changes in the form of a persuasive letter to the person in charge of the space. This encouraged students not only to research thoroughly to back up their claims, but also provided a sense of agency.

Resources:

Learning Space Brainstorming WorksheetDownload
Learning Spaces Paragraph WorksheetDownload
Checklist for Rethinking Learning SpacesDownload
Proposal for Rethinking a Learning Space WorksheetDownload

3. Start a Debate

Another way to make research more engaging is to utilize it as preparation for a debate. For example, I partnered with an 8th grade humanities teacher to craft a list of debate questions that reflected her curriculum as her year end wrap up. We had students work in groups of four to research their assigned question and then split them into pairs, with one pair supporting each side of the debate.

Questions again included real-world applications, including, “Should the US government sponsor and promote pro-war propaganda during times of war?” and “Which invention was more significant, the telephone or the lightbulb?” Students chose topics that reflected their interests and were motivated to research by their competitive nature. These debates also put their research to the test and taught them to select their most effective findings to support their own arguments.

Resources:

Nuclear Accidents DebateDownload
Russias Nuclear Threat DebateDownload
Sample Debate Topics and GuidelinesDownload

In my 5th grade Language Arts class, we ended the year by researching the pros and cons of using fidget toys in classes. We explored different types of fidget toys, then interviewed teachers and students about their experiences with them. The unit culminated in students creating their own fidget toy and then writing a persuasive letter to a teacher in the next grade encouraging them to let their students use the toy next year.

Resources:

Brainstorming for the Ideal Fidget Toy WorksheetDownload
Exploring Fidget Toys WorksheetDownload
Fidget Toy Interviews and Reflection WorksheetDownload
Fidget Toy Research WorksheetDownload

5. Embrace the Makerspace

Recently, I partnered with our school’s Latin teacher to create makerspace research projects for her 5th-8th grade students. Her 5th graders researched armor and animals found in Ancient Rome before creating armor for a stuffed animal based on their research. Her 6th graders each researched a different merchant from the Ancient Roman forum (marketplace) and then created items to sell in our forum simulation. Her 7th graders chose different structures from Ancient Rome to research and then created models to use in a presentation where they convinced a panel of Ancient Roman government officials to fund their idea. Her 8th graders researched chariots in Ancient Rome and built their own life-sized chariots out of cardboard and PVC pipes to race. These hands-on activities transformed traditional research projects into collaborative, competitive, and creative endeavors.

Makerspace Madness: Making Research More Engaging

What if you could leverage research to encourage creativity? You can! Research-based makerspace projects allow space for research magic to happen. Makerspace projects can take many forms, but the ones I’ve referred to throughout the article are those where students use readily available (and inexpensive) craft supplies and recycled materials to create items based on their imagination and research.

Are you excited about dipping your toe into the wonderful world of makerspace research projects but not sure where to begin? Start small by using building challenges as bell ringers or brain breaks. These challenges help students build their creativity, collaboration, and grit and prepare them to tackle larger projects. Then, take a trip to The Dollar Tree and begin building your stash of maker supplies. My shopping list even includes mock “prices” because I often give my students a budget for projects so they have to be more intentional in planning their creations. 

Makerspace Supply List (with prices)Download
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