2020 has been quite the year, hasn’t it? It’ll go down in history for its world-stopping pandemic, multiple environmental disasters and very turbulent election season. One thing that feels a bit lost in all the chaos is the fact that this year is a major anniversary. One hundred years ago, the 19th Amendment passed into law, finally giving all Americans the right to vote. Numerous women and men fought tirelessly over several decades for women to have the chance to have a voice in how their country is run. They faced many roadblocks over the years, but their hard work and determination ultimately paid off with the passing of the amendment on August 18, 1920.
The library, of course, offers a number of great materials on the subject if you’re interested in learning more. If you’d like to have a little bit of fun in the process, I invite you to try our first ever digital escape room: Votes for Women. We had planned to celebrate this anniversary with an in-person escape room earlier in the year. But like with many things in 2020, we’ve had to re-think our approach to library programs and create an online version.
If you’re new to escape rooms, they are basically a series of puzzles and hidden clues that you work through to determine the combinations for a variety of “locks.” Once you figure out all of the combinations, you are able to “escape.” This digital room can be completed by yourself, or you might work on it with others in your household (or use an online tool like Zoom to complete it with friends). The room is geared towards adults, but I think kids ages 12 and up would probably enjoy working on the puzzles and clues with their grownups.
So, if you’re feeling up for it, give our escape room a try and let us know what you think about it through the feedback question on the locks page. We hope you enjoy it (and also learn a little about the incredible people who helped bring the right to vote to all Americans)!
