Teacher note
Enter the teacher password to see the answers and testing tools.
How it runs
- Teams of 3 or 4 share one Chromebook. The game tells them to pass the mouse after every puzzle so everyone gets a turn to drive.
- Plan on 60 to 75 minutes (it can be split over two class periods with progress codes). Students explore 10 rooms of the Starling Museum of Art plus the Gallery, help 9 people, collect 9 clues (Director Ada gives a 10th at the start), then fill in an Evidence Chart and name the person who swapped The Golden Fox for a fake.
- The museum opens up as they go: Dusty's Elevator Key opens the Upper Floor, Professor Quill's East Wing Pass opens the East Wing, and Stella's laser puzzle opens the Gallery.
- Skills: elapsed time and reading a timeline (alibis), careful visual comparison (spot 7 differences), Morse code, spatial reasoning with lines of sight (a security camera grid), two lines of symmetry (a mosaic), equal spacing with subtraction and division, reflection with mirrors (a laser puzzle), fractions of a set and equivalent fractions (a painting of 12 squares), perimeter and area (frames that all use 24 inches), and evidence based reasoning on a 6 by 4 chart.
- The new kind of ending: there is no hidden object. Four clues tell facts about the thief (alone at 9:40, has a Frame Workshop key, paints with oils, wore something gold) and four clues list which people fit each fact. Teams must fill in all 24 boxes of the Evidence Chart correctly before they can name the thief, so a guess does not work.
- Wrong answers lock that puzzle for a short wait (15 seconds, then 30, 45, 60) so teams talk instead of guessing. In the spot the difference puzzle, 3 wrong clicks cause a wait. A wrong Evidence Chart or a wrong accusation waits 20, 40, then 60 seconds, and it never says which box is wrong. Hints: 3 per puzzle (the Evidence Chart has 3 too), one every 45 seconds.
- The Suspect Board button on the side lets teams pencil in their thinking any time (cross out, circle). The real Evidence Chart opens in the Gallery once all 9 clues are found.
- Bonus: 11 tiny gold frames are hidden in the rooms for teams that like to explore. The count prints on the award.
- Progress codes: after every puzzle the team gets a 10 letter code (like
KDHTM-7XQMP), also shown on the side. Have one student write the newest code on paper. If a browser resets or the team switches Chromebooks, they type it on the start screen and get back their team name, every solved puzzle (in any order), open areas, items, hints and time. Made-up codes do not work, and after 3 wrong tries the box makes them wait 20 seconds. Typing their own code again on the same computer keeps any wait that is still running, so reloading the page cannot skip a wrong answer wait. A code always brings its own team name, and that name prints on the award. - The "Left this page" counter on the side goes up every time someone switches to another tab or window. It does not stop the game. A high number can mean someone went looking for answers, for example by taking a screenshot to an AI helper, so it is worth a quick check in.
- Everything in this room (the museum, the painting, the characters and the story) is original, so it is safe to share. The facts on the clickable spots are real.
Timer
Minutes until the doors open: (teams can keep playing in overtime; the award says "Solved in overtime")
Answers
- Security Office, Gus: at 9:40 Gus is in the Lobby (9:25 plus 25 minutes is 9:50), Dusty is in the Lobby (Studio 9:20 to 9:35, then Lobby), Professor Quill is in the Lobby (from 9:35), Penelope is in the Lounge (9:30 to 10:00), Vivian is in the Studio (9:35 to 9:55), Felix is in the Workshop (9:15 to 10:00). Alone: Penelope, Vivian and Felix.
- Art Studio, Vivian: the 7 differences on the fake: the sun has 6 rays (not 8), the third bird is missing, the tree has 2 apples (not 4), the fox tail tip is orange (not white), the middle fence post is missing, the 4th flower is purple, and the name says O. Fitch (not O. Finch).
- Supply Closet, Dusty: the Morse code spells BUCKET. Gives the Elevator Key, which opens the Upper Floor.
- Camera Room, Pixel: from START go up 1, right 3, up through the Frame Workshop (the left workshop square), up 2 more, right 4 along the second row from the top, then up 1 to the GALLERY. Every safe path goes through the Frame Workshop.
- Mosaic Hall, Mo: each gray tile matches its twin across a dashed line. The full mosaic, top row to bottom row (b blue, w white, g gold, r red): bwgrrgwb, wgbwwbgw, grwggwrg, grwggwrg, wgbwwbgw, bwgrrgwb.
- Art Library, Professor Quill: Wall A 2 feet (20 minus 12 is 8, split into 4 spaces), Wall B 4 feet (24 minus 12 is 12, split into 3), Wall C 3 feet (30 minus 18 is 12, split into 4). Gives the East Wing Pass.
- Sculpture Hall, Stella: the laser goes down, right along the 4th row through a crystal, up, left along the middle row through the other crystal, up, then right along the top row to the sensor. Mirror tilts: middle row from the left \ \ then far right \; 4th row left \ and right /; top row /. Opens the Gallery.
- Collector's Lounge, Penelope: any 4 yellow, 3 red, 2 blue and 3 white squares; the white part is 1/4.
- Frame Workshop, Felix: heights 9, 8, 7, 6 and areas 27, 32, 35, 36 for widths 3 to 6. The biggest is the 6 by 6 square.
- The Evidence Chart: Alone at 9:40: Penelope, Vivian, Felix (Gus's clue). Frame Workshop key: Felix, Gus, Dusty (Dusty's clue). Paints with oils: Felix, Vivian, Professor Quill (Professor Quill's clue). Wore gold: Felix, Dusty, Penelope (Penelope's clue). Every other box is an X. The thief is Felix, who borrowed The Golden Fox to give it a new gold frame as a surprise and hung his practice copy in its place.