GASTONIA — Amid cheering and the theme song to “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” the students of St. Michael Catholic School in Gastonia “found” the long-lost Ark of the Covenant.
The school gym was transformed into an ancient-Israel-themed escape room, and teams of students across fourth and eighth grade scrambled to solve clues and overcome obstacles.
Christian author Janeen Zaio organized the event with St. Michael School.
Unlike in traditional escape rooms, students weren’t locked within the walls, but the walls of Jerusalem presented their own challenge.
Teams walked on the narrow “walls” littered with what appeared to be broken glass, then threw a dagger at a bell to earn points. They searched for dye to reveal an invisible (and messy) message on a scroll. Their favorite part was crawling through a glowworm cave to find a hidden clue.
The teams who earned the most points won the opportunity to find the Ark of the Covenant. With a clue and a good deal of intuition, they found the Ark in a vault just as the prophet Jeremiah predicted. The rest of the children processed behind the winning team until they safely returned the Ark to the Temple in Jerusalem.
Janeen Zaio’s program ties together religious lessons with fun adventures. The students learned about the landmarks, religion and customs of Israel during the time of Jesus.
Zaio, a native of Charleston, travels across the Carolinas hosting the escape room as part of her ministry. The event immerses students in her children’s book, “The Treasure With a Face,” which follows the adventures of a 12-year-old treasure hunter traveling to Jerusalem to meet Jesus and find the Ark of the Covenant. Zaio said that within the suspense and humor of the story is a theme to inspire love for the Eucharist. “I wrote the book to take students beyond Eucharistic knowledge to relationship,” Zaio said. “I try to stir emotions and give children an experience that inspires them to love our Eucharistic Lord with their heart and soul.”
— Spencer K.M. Brown
