Two students at Stevens Point Area Senior High (SPLASH) in Wisconsin have created, and are hosting, an educational escape room in the hope of shedding light on the 1918 influenza pandemic.

Victoria Miller and Julia Lang are the masterminds behind the escape room development. The students were interested in the deadly virus of 1918 that killed up to 500 million people around the world. Colloquially known as Spanish flu, this was one of deadliest pandemics in human history, which resulted from the unprecedented spread of the H1N1 virus.

The room is designed to recreate an early 20th century American home, when the virus first broke out in the United States. Players must then solve different puzzles using facts and knowledge gained from the room’s various features.

Bret Lesniak of the Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) is overseeing the project – an organisation dedicated to future health professional.

The room takes 25 minutes to complete, is free, family-friendly, and will enlighten its players on a critical moment in human history.