Escape Mendocino College, Ukiah

Sometimes, the point of an escape room is to get out alive, but at Mendocino College this Halloween season, the goal is rather to get out the fastest. Designed by math, engineering, and science students enrolled in the college's MESA program, each of these Halloween-themed rooms is riddled with puzzles. Participants who are (willingly) locked inside work together to solve the puzzles and secure their escape before other teams can do the same. Each escape attempt lasts up to 30 minutes, after which the fastest team wins a $50 gift card, and everyone regardless of performance can enjoy a trip to the trick-or-treat station. In the end, not just the participants win; the MESA program benefits as well, with all proceeds from the event going directly back to its students in the form of scholarship and field-trip opportunities.