We escaped!

Being trapped together is a great team building exercise!

A couple of weeks ago we (the LAUNCH staff) took our lunch break to go do a little team building at Escape Experience Chattanooga. We’d never really done anything as a team outside of LAUNCH and thought this would be the perfect opportunity to do so.

The week prior, we had to pick which scenario we wanted to experience. We decided “The Inheritance” would be the most agreeable for everyone. Little did we know, it was apparently the hardest of the bunch...

Upon arrival we were all a little rowdy, like little kids finally getting out of the classroom and on a field trip. None of us knew what to expect. Would we solve The Inheritance? Would we panic under the time constraint? Would we end up leaving the room mad at each other?

When we learned that this scenario only had a 27% solve rate, our competitive side kicked in and we were ready to go. The staff at Escape then gave us the run down, and the setup:

Decode the mysteries of time and space in this clue like escape game. Your late uncle was working on something special that he didn’t want to fall into the wrong hands. As a contingency plan he put you in his Will. Can you find "it" before “they” do?

We were then escorted to the room, the door was locked, and the clock began ticking. We immediately started ransacking the room, searching for clues and beginning our hunt for The Inheritance.

While we can’t tell you HOW, we can tell you that we did indeed escape, with 6 minutes and 20 seconds left!

So, what did we all take away from the Escape Experience?

Hal (executive director):

“I learned that we really do work well together as a team and can accomplish much together.  I also learned that I need to brush up on my longitudinal studies!!!”

Marco (vice president of operations):

“Everyone went to work with no particular direction needed, found a team to work with, and worked well together. When they were done with that task, without anybody having to give direction, they went to the next task, or to support an existing task happening. I think that's very indicative of how we all work together.”

Gina (program director):

“I was really happy that I didn’t get fired when the Escape Experience was over.”

Kara (program assistant and grants manager):

“I learned that we’re actually a pretty good team after all. We worked together to accomplish what 73% of other teams couldn’t!”

AJ (director of business support services):

“Sometimes the answer is right in front of my face. Literally…”

Derelle (youth program assistant):

“We always work well together, and our team was able to escape with minutes to spare! The kids at LAUNCH Kinect this summer will have a blast at Escape Experience!”

Bex (PR and communications manager):

“No matter the task, we get it done. Also, we’re kind of loud when we’re outside of the work setting and apparently I’m really good at finding keys...that aren’t my own.”

Gabby (graphic designer):

“I learned that it's important to be aware of your surroundings and to look at things in different ways to find the answer.”

Whether you want to team build, bond or just have a lot of fun, we highly recommend The Escape Experience!