The Educational Benefits of Mazes

Maze puzzles have their rabid fans. There is a certain sense of personal accomplishment that can be derived from effectively solving a maze puzzle. Part of the reason for this is because mazes require analytical skill that other puzzles often lack. This is why so many studies have been undertaken looking into how living beings can navigate mazes. Surely you have seen variants on the classic "mouse in a maze" scientific study. This is not an idle scientific game. There is much to learn from watching a mouse develop the "intelligence" required for escaping a maze. Mazes are complex and observing how living creatures navigate a maze provide a unique insight into behavior and the capacity to learn.

Imagine being a mouse working its way through a maze. The first time the mouse runs through the maze it will probably stand still at the first dead end it finds itself. Of course, the mouse soon realizes that sitting there forever is boring so backs itself out of the dead end and journeys on a new path. In time, given enough practice working the maze the mouse may discover that it expanded its memory retention, critical skills and survival instincts. While a puzzle maze is no substitute for a life size maze ala the garden maze in THE SHINING, putting pencil to paper and solving a puzzle maze will do wonders for boosting critical analysis, cognition and logic skills.

This is because mazes can be quite challenging and they require sharp thinking to solve. If you try a strategy that doesn’t work you have to employ a new one. This develops a winning mindset for victory that effectively works side by side with increased analytical skills. After all, haphazardly moving through a maze will yield hitting dead end after dead end. As such, the need for an orderly, structured and deliberate approach to solving the maze is required. This instills in the person working the maze with disciplined thinking and a strategic plan. A disciplined mind is highly valuable and this is one of the most important educational benefits that mazes provide. After all, such traits can be applied to any field and endeavor. Ultimately, solving a maze puzzle is about expanding the capacity of the mind. This in and of itself can provide tremendous broad-based educational benefits and this makes proficiency with maze puzzles an envious skill.