Cracking Easter challenge for Leeds budding digital code breakers

Young adventurers in Leeds can decipher an intricate piece of Morse code or discover the secrets of an ancient prehistoric cave as part of a new interactive online game.

Designed by Leeds Museums and Galleries, the innovative code-cracking challenge calls on players negotiate a series of fiendishly clever puzzles using key information they have learned about history and heritage.

Solving each puzzle will reveal a new clue, each of which combines with the others to unlock the combination to a mysterious digital box as well as a wealth of fascinating facts.

Available for free on the council’s award-winning MyLearning website, the imaginative game is aimed at encouraging visitors to find out more about subjects including prehistoric animals, Roman Britain and insect life while also introducing them to the site and its impressive array of educational content.

Orchid Bee (Latin name Euglossine Bee). Orchid bees live in South America and are only the size of a human fingernail. Code Cracker players will be asked to find out fascinating facts about minibeasts like these.

The Leeds Discovery Centre, where many of the objects in the Leeds Museums and Galleries collection, which feature on the MyLearning site, are stored.

A child's Roman leather sandal found at Dalton Parlours. The sandal is very well preserved with the decoration on the insole still visible. Code Cracker players will discover fascinating facts about ancient Rome

The site is usually used predominantly by teachers to support their lessons, but with most of the city’s schools currently closed as part of efforts to manage the spread of coronavirus, it has been proving a hit with home learners and has seen a huge surge in new visitors over the past fortnight.

It is hoped the new game will also give visitors something new and fun to try over Easter while the city is observing social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic.

Logging in to MyLearning.org for free gives access to information, images, videos and other games themed around the 1.3million items in the impressive Leeds Museums Galleries collection. The site also hosts curriculum-relevant topics from museums libraries and archives from all across the country.

Councillor Judith Blake, leader of Leeds City Council, said: “We know that keeping young people occupied in these difficult circumstances can be a real challenge for parents and carers and we’re determined to offer them as much support with that as we possibly can.

“Our museums and galleries team have been doing a fantastic job in helping to create some new and innovative opportunities to engage with our world-class collection from home and to encourage young people and families to come together and explore history in completely different ways.”

Last year the Leeds Curriculum, which is hosted on My Learning, was named Educational Initiative of the Year at the prestigious Museums + Heritage Awards.

To find out more or to start exploring the Leeds Curriculum, visit: https://www.mylearning.org/collections/leeds-curriculum

To play Crack the Code, visit: https://sites.google.com/view/mylearning-crack-the-code/home