What If the Biodiversity Crisis Were an Escape Room?

Hindi lang tayo ang sakop ng buhay; ang bawat buhay sa buhay, magkadugtong-dugtong.

(We are NOT the only ones embraced by life; ALL life is interconnected.)

Bonifacio Art Foundation, Inc. (BAFI) and the United States Agency for International Development are excited to present a two-part biodiversity special on MIND S-COOL TV, alongside a traveling Biodiversity Crisis Escape Room (BCER). These initiatives aim to creatively emphasize the essential concepts of “roles” and “collaboration” in tackling the biodiversity crisis, as well as the diverse “measures” of value, extending beyond monetary aspects, that are crucial for coexisting with nature.

The BCER is an innovative, traveling, immersive experience composed of three main rooms that symbolize the biodiversity crisis. Participants must work together to escape the crisis by understanding and fulfilling their roles. After its debut at The Mind Museum on May 22, the BCER will tour various locations: Subic (Harbor Point, June 15), Puerto Princesa (Robinson’s Mall, June 29), and Davao (Abreeza Mall, July 27). The escape room will engage a wide range of participants, including legislators, enforcers, regulators, community leaders, cultural leaders, and the general public. It will also feature life-sized moving puppets representing local flora and fauna, operated by professional puppeteers, offering a unique and impactful experience for all.

Inside the BCER, participants will randomly select roles and enter three interconnected rooms. They can only escape by understanding their tasks and working together. The challenges in each room are designed to highlight the “Mga Sukat ng Kalikasan” (measures/values of nature), emphasizing the steps needed to overcome the biodiversity crisis. This facilitated experience simulates real-life decision-making conversations and actions concerning our shared natural heritage, emphasizing both benefits and responsibilities.

The two-part biodiversity special of MIND S-COOL TV, the #1 science show across all channels according to the latest Nielsen Ratings Survey, serves as a TV adaptation of BCER. This narrative involves main questers and non-human “players” who assist in resolving the biodiversity crisis that has taken MIND S-COOL hostage. Participants will navigate the rooms alongside other characters, including life-sized puppets representing flora, fauna, habitats, and abiotic elements, giving nature a “voice.” The overarching message of this special is that “all life is embedded in nature, and understanding its many values is crucial to maintaining the quality of our interconnected lives.”

Part 1 of this special will air on May 26 at 11 AM, with a replay at 4:30 PM on OnePh Channel on Cignal. Part 2 will air the following week, with both parts being replayed over the subsequent six weeks.

Kathy Wachala, Chief of Party for USAID’s Sustainable Interventions for Biodiversity, Oceans, and Landscapes (SIBOL) project, stated, “This partnership with BAFI for BCER and MIND S-COOL TV has provided a powerful means for stakeholders to internalize their roles and collaborate on solutions to the biodiversity crisis.” Maria Isabel Garcia, Managing Director/Curator of BAFI, added, “We are deeply inspired by our partnership with USAID SIBOL, which has enabled us to employ highly imaginative engagement strategies to promote science in service of life and biodiversity.”

We can overcome the biodiversity crisis by understanding the interconnectedness of all life and working together, starting now.

For more information about the USAID SIBOL project and its interventions, please email info@ph-sibol.org.

Mind S-Cool TV and the Biodiversity Crisis Escape Room were conceived and created by the Bonifacio Art Foundation, Inc., the organization behind The Mind Museum and the BGC Arts Center.

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