Around 100 young people put their teamwork, leadership and problem-solving skills to the test at the National Museum of Qatar (NMoQ) in a mystery challenge designed entirely by Teen Hub members.
Eight members of Qatar Museums (QM)’s Teen Hub developed The Experiment – Stage C “from A to Z”, turning the museum’s galleries into a timed mystery challenge for fellow members on September 26.
Teen Hub director Abdulrahman al-Ishaq told Gulf Times that the young designers were given a broad brief to create a challenge that would encourage participants to learn about the museum while building a mystery around it.
“Everything came from their ideas,” he said. “They have designed it from A to Z, the whole thing. We just advised them on the logistics.”
Around 100 members took part in the event, although al-Ishaq said the final number was still being confirmed.
He added that the team hoped the challenge could eventually be made available to NMoQ visitors as a self-guided experience.
Stage C is the third phase of the experiment, Teen Hub’s year-long flagship programme.
Participants worked in teams and against the clock, navigating the museum’s galleries and solving puzzles designed to test how they respond to pressure, unfamiliar situations and one another.
“These stages are designed to challenge them and grow them as well,” al-Ishaq said. “We hope that they gain skills such as leadership skills, teamwork, and put them under time pressure, peer pressure.”
He summed up the idea with an analogy: “When you put a lump of coal under pressure, what comes out is diamonds.”
Al-Ishaq described the programme’s approach as “edutainment, education entertainment”, saying that youth activities need to combine learning with experiences participants genuinely enjoy.
“We hope that through this challenge they learn a bit more about the museum, its galleries, and more about themselves as well,” he said.
The changes, al-Ishaq added, have become particularly visible in participants’ social skills.
At the beginning of the programme, some Teen Hub members were uncomfortable approaching strangers.
During Stage A, the induction phase, they took part in an activity called the “Awkward Olympics”, where participants had 15 minutes to form a team with people they had never met before.
“This forces them to engage with other people, and through that challenge, it broke the ice,” al-Ishaq said. “So now we see them as friends.”
Members also collect “XP”, or experience points, as they progress through the programme.
However, al-Ishaq said some of its most meaningful outcomes are harder to quantify.
“There are things that cannot be measured,” he said. “It’s their social skills that have grown exponentially.”
The Stage C event was held in collaboration with the NMoQ across its galleries and auditorium.
It was open exclusively to existing Teen Hub members.
The programme aims to develop young people through shared experiences.
Al-Ishaq said the Teen Hub expects to open membership to new applicants early next year.
