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 on 3 floors of a science lab plus Dr. Beaker's office, help 9 characters, collect 9 clues, find the hidden antidote, then stop the goo with 4 Goo Gates. The zombies are cute and silly (sleepy green lab pets who only want broccoli), not scary.
- The lab opens up as they go: Dr. Mo's Lab Badge opens Floor 2, Safety Sam's hazmat suits open Floor 3, and BEEP-O opens Dr. Beaker's office. Frosty's ice tray makes the Goo Gates used in the final puzzle.
- Skills: doubling (exponential growth, with a "when was it half full?" twist), tracing a spread backward from a log (logic), division with remainders (when to round up and when to drop the leftovers), using a dichotomous key, reading measuring scales where not every line is labeled, counting combinations (tree diagrams), covering a grid with dominoes (spatial reasoning), making a line plot from data, binary place value with lights (16, 8, 4, 2, 1), elimination from 10 clues (every clue is needed), and blocking a spread on a grid.
- Wrong answers lock that puzzle for a short wait (15 seconds, then 30, 45, 60) so teams talk instead of guessing. Dr. Mo's order clears after a wrong check. Frosty's tray only finishes when every square is covered, so it has no wrong answers. A wrong search adds 2 minutes to the clock plus a wait that grows each time (1, 2, 3, then 5 minutes). If goo reaches a hamster in the final puzzle, the team waits 20, 40, then 60 seconds. Hints: 3 per puzzle (the final puzzle has 3 too), one every 45 seconds.
- Bonus: 11 atoms 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 crew name, every solved puzzle (in any order), open floors, items, the antidote, 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 crew 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 lab, the characters and the story) is original, so it is safe to share. The science facts on the clickable spots are real.
Timer
Minutes until the goo covers the lab: (teams can keep playing in overtime; the award says "Finished in overtime")
Answers
- Green House, Ms. Petal: 3, 6, 12, 24, 48. All 96 squares are covered at 1:50. Half covered (48) at 1:40.
- Animal Room, Dr. Mo: order 1 Squeak, 2 Shelly, 3 Fins, 4 Hammy, 5 Bun-Bun. Polly sat with Shelly (9:10) and Hammy (9:30) and stayed healthy, so neither was green yet. Shelly turned green at 9:20 next to Squeak, so Squeak was first. Gives the Lab Badge, which opens Floor 2.
- Cafeteria, Chef Noodle: 9 boxes, 7 each, 3 left over, 7 trips, 7 full bags.
- Microscope Lab, Dr. Lens: A Wiggler, B Grumbler, C Snoozie, D Blobby, E Zoomer, F Prickles.
- Chemistry Lab, Dr. Bubbles: Tube A 14 mL (lines are 2s), B 35 mL (5s), C 70 mL (10s), D 125 mL (25s).
- Safety Room, Safety Sam: 12 outfits (3 times 2 times 2), then 18 with 3 boot colors. Gives the hazmat suits, which open Floor 3.
- Cold Storage, Frosty: any way that covers every white square with 12 ice blocks. Start with the forced blocks next to the gray squares. Gives the Goo Gates.
- Rooftop, Skye: X's above 2 (1), 3 (2), 4 (3), 5 (5), 6 (2), 7 (1). Most common: 5 feet.
- Office Door, BEEP-O: 13 = 8 + 4 + 1, 22 = 16 + 4 + 2, 7 = 4 + 2 + 1. Opens Dr. Beaker's office.
- The search: the antidote is in the Blue Cooler (Cold Storage). Every one of the 10 clues removes a different hiding spot.
- Stop the Spread: put the 4 Goo Gates in the 4 doorways that lead out of the two goo rooms: the gap in the top wall and the gap in the bottom wall of each room. Do not use the doorway on the right that leads to the little closet (no hamster there). Other spots can work too, as long as the goo cannot reach any hamster; the game checks by actually spreading the goo.