A Printable Escape Room You Can Play at Home

August 28, 2025 by Sarah White Leave a Comment

It’s the time of year when I write this that no one really wants to be outside where I live because it is just too hot. But we still want to make things fun while we’re stuck inside all day.

Escape rooms at home are a great way to give kids a little fun challenge, and they’re great for small groups of kids to work on together, just for a fun afternoon activity or to build a birthday party or other special event around.

The best kinds of escape rooms are the ones that are totally done for you, like this zoo themed one from In the Playroom.

It opens with kids visiting the safari zoo, and somehow they are locked in the zoo and have to figure out how to get out before the zookeepers come back.

This set of printables has absolutely everything you need to complete the game, including details kids will love like a zoo admission ticket and certificate of completion for when they figure out the code to get out of the zoo.

In between they’ll solve puzzles with secret codes, go through a maze and match animals to letters to crack another code to finish the puzzle.

All of the pieces are really cute and I think this will engage kids of a variety of ages. Little kids might need a little help with the puzzles, but it should be fun for grown ups to play along, too. And if you or your kids are having trouble with any of the clues, the PDF also includes the solutions so you can help them crack the case without having to think too much about it.

This free download is available to subscribers, so head on over to In the Playroom to sign up and download this great zoo escape room to play with your kids today.

[Photo: In the Playroom]

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Get Kids Moving with a Themed Obstacle Course

I feel like I’ve been writing a lot (and thinking a lot) about things that you can do inside when it’s too hot to consider going outside to play, but when you get those nice days (or if you’re already planning things to do when it’s a little cooler out) you need to be ready to take advantage.

Having a piece of chalk and a sidewalk is all the preparation you need for a basic movement obstacle course. Think of it as a much more intricate game of hopscotch with other movements like twirling, balancing, jumping and throwing.

The original idea behind this post was the pirate themed chalk obstacle course from Chick Link. This super cute (and long!) course includes things like jumping over a crocodile, balancing on the plank, catching a fish by throwing a hula hoop, spinning in a storm, rowing a boat and more, high-fiving the pirate and finally getting to the treasure (which is also just drawn, or you could have little fake jewels) at the end.

This theme is super cute but it occurs to me you could do something similar with whatever your kid is into. Make the course based on characters they like with activities from shows or movies they enjoy. Think about how you can incorporate easy movement like jumping, stomping, balancing, twisting, stretching or throwing into an activity.

Maybe a Curious George course where you pretend to climb a tree, “swing” through the vines by jumping, toss the yellow hat on the man, etc.

And while this one is totally done on sidewalks, if you don’t have access to that much sidewalk you could do it with signs marked in the grass or even just calling out actions to kids while they run around the playground.

Or do it inside with tape and signs, if it’s still too hot to think about going outside but you want to get those kids moving today.

[Photo: Chick Link]

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