Escape room: The Tu BiShvat Seeds
A Tu BiShvat escape room for kids 7–9: discover the seven species, count seedlings and spot a doubling pattern to open the seed safe.
The story
The school’s bag of magic seeds got locked in the garden safe, and nobody remembers the code. Without the seeds we can’t plant on Tu BiShvat! Solve the riddles and open the safe.
5 story stations · online you can pick a level that adds more locks.
Run it at home or in class
What to prepare
- A bag of seeds
- A box with a code lock
- Dried fruit and fruit from the seven species
- Printed station sheets
Tips for the facilitator
- Prepare a real basket with the fruit from station 2.
- At the end, plant the seeds in cups of soil.
- Hand out dried fruit as the prize.
Difficulty level for “The Tu BiShvat Seeds”
The story clues stay the same on every level; harder levels add more locks in between. You can ask for a hint at every stage.
🌱 The Tu BiShvat Seeds
The school’s bag of magic seeds got locked in the garden safe, and nobody remembers the code. Without the seeds we can’t plant on Tu BiShvat! Solve the riddles and open the safe.
0 of 6 stages solved
Stage 1: What is “Tu”?
1/6In Hebrew, letters are also numbers: Tet = 9 and Vav = 6. Together they spell “Tu”, so Tu BiShvat means the “Tu-th” day of the month of Shvat.
Facilitator guide: 🌱 The Tu BiShvat Seeds
What the room practises
Hebrew letter values, sorting a list, multiplication and doubling.
The 5 stations (without the answers)
- What is “Tu”?: On which day of the month of Shvat is Tu BiShvat? (Write a number.)
- The seven species basket: How many fruits in the basket are from the seven species?
- The seedling bed: How many seedlings are planted altogether?
- The seed that doubles: How many leaves will it have on day five?
- The safe: What is the code?
Preparing and printing
On the easy level the printed kit has 7 pages: a facilitator sheet with the opening story, the setup list and every answer, plus an A4 card for each of the 6 stages. Besides printing, get ready: a bag of seeds and dried fruit and fruit from the seven species.
Most important: Prepare a real basket with the fruit from station 2.
Age and group size
Best with teams of 3–5 children. In a class or a big party, print a kit per team and run the room in parallel.
Giving hints in this room
Online the hints open one at a time; in the printed kit they sit in the facilitator table next to each answer. Give the first hint after a couple of minutes of silence, not at the first wrong guess.
Frequently asked questions
What age is “The Tu BiShvat Seeds” for, and how long does it take?
It was written for kids 7–9, at easy difficulty, and usually takes 15 minutes. It has 5 story stations, and online you can choose between three difficulty levels that add more locks.
What do I need to run “The Tu BiShvat Seeds”?
A printer and these props: A bag of seeds; A box with a code lock; Dried fruit and fruit from the seven species; Printed station sheets. The printable kit includes a facilitator sheet with every answer and a card for each stage.
What if the players get stuck?
Every stage has graded hints. Online they open one at a time; in the printed kit they sit next to each answer on the facilitator sheet. The first hint never gives the answer away.
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