The STEM escape room sits in the math pod of Akron's National Inventors Hall of Fame STEM High School. It was the brainchild of teacher Ben Graber, who worked with Goodyear engineers on the project. One of those engineers, Rhonda Williams, even got her husband to build it. Ever since then, Graber says it’s been a hit.
"he kids love the idea of getting out of their seats, so anything that engages them beyond you know, normal math class, is exciting to them," Graber said.
Graber adds the escape room helps kids to work together as a team and sharpens their reasoning and problem-solving skills, attributes companies like Goodyear look for when it comes to hiring new employees.
Students like it, too: Roxan Leuanglitthidet, Olivia Esposito, and Santylea Wilson worked through the escape room the day WKYC was there. All agreed it was fun and a good way to learn math.
After all, as Olivia put it, "Better to have three brains than just one."
The STEM escape room is such a hit that Goodyear employees are building one at the nearby middle school, another tool to help kids over the "I don't like math" hurdle.