Can you share a little about how PerplEXIT came to be?

I had never heard of escape rooms until 2015, when a friend of mine played one while on vacation with her family in California and immediately called me afterwards. She knows I love puzzles and games and wanted to tell me about this new thing called escape rooms. I went straight to Google and looked them up. Unfortunately, there were none close to the Tri-Cities, so I decided to open one myself.

PerplEXIT is brimming with hand-crafted elements and artistic touches. Has art always been a pertinent part of your life?

I have always enjoyed art and took all the art classes available when in high school: photography, painting and drawing, sculpture, and computer design. I loved them all.

A lot of the hand-crafted elements at PerplEXIT are creations made in my dad's wood shop. I was very fortunate to have grown up with exposure to both woodworking and music in our household, both of which I consider to be creative endeavors.

How do you feel art shows up in unexpected ways in our community?

There are so many different ways to express yourself through art. It can be visual arts, written arts, or performance arts such as music or dance. 

It can even be in the design of a garden with the unique color and arrangement of plants. 

I think we sometimes take for granted how much art we see around us each day. Not just the obvious things like paintings or sculptures... but anything that has taken the deliberate time and craft of an individual to become what it is. 

Why is art important?

Art allows people to express themselves in unique ways. Perhaps someone who has trouble putting their thoughts and emotions into words is able to convey it through music or dance. Art is a coping mechanism for some people and therapy for others. Art can be an experience for communities to share and build connections through. It also allows communication through time and space. We have works of literature that are hundreds of years old that paint us pictures of different times and cultures. 

We live in a science heavy community. Would you say art, creativity, and science are connected? How do you see that reflected at PerplEXIT?

I am an oddball in that I love the sciences as much as I do art. I had just discovered the planetarium at CBC when I was designing our first room-Gemini-which is why astronomy is one of the themes of that game.

​​PerplEXIT brings live action puzzle rooms, escape game adventures, and team building activities to the Tri-Cities. Gather your friends, family, and coworkers and come experience an exciting and stimulating challenge.

Visit PerplEXIT at www.perplexitpuzzlerooms.net and follow them on Facebook: perplexit and Instagram: @perplexit_escape