My Honest Review of Kessler Science for Middle School

Engaging in theory — confusing in practice (at least for my students). I’m also trying Living in Color now.

As a middle school science teacher, I’m always on the hunt for curriculum tools that can help bring energy, structure, and creativity to my classroom. With so many moving parts — from standards alignment to student attention spans (and let’s be real: Wi-Fi that works maybe 70% of the time) — I need resources that are both flexible and genuinely engaging.

That’s why I was excited to try Kessler Science. I signed up for the upper-tier plan, looking forward to using their full library of escape rooms, station labs, Google Classroom-friendly materials, and more. On paper, it had everything I was looking for.

But after several weeks (and several confused class periods), I realized something important:
Just because something sounds engaging doesn’t mean it works for every group of kids.

The Activities: Escape Rooms and Stations

I kicked things off with one of their pre-made science escape rooms — hoping to channel some of that classroom chaos into focused problem-solving. Instead, I ended up with students sitting blankly, clicking randomly, and asking:

“What are we supposed…