Step back in time and test your survival skills at American Adventure 1607, now at the Becker County Museum in Detroit Lakes until May 24th, 2025.

American Adventure is an immersive historical experience that brings visitors face-to-face with the challenges of America’s first European settlers. This educational role-play adventure, created by Minotaur Mazes, transports participants to 1607, when the first permanent European settlement was established in what we now know as Jamestown, Virginia.

More than 400 years ago, 104 brave colonists arrived on the shores of America, but only 38 survived the harsh conditions of the first year. Visitors to American Adventure 1607 take on the role of one of these original settlers, facing the same life-or-death decisions. The twist? This time, you’re in control of your destiny.

Participants begin by selecting a Life Chart, representing one of the original Jamestown colonists. Each chart includes an abacus with beads that track “life points” in key survival categories like health, food, shelter, and morale. As you move through the exhibition, your decisions determine whether you maintain enough life points to survive.

From foraging for food and securing shelter to dealing with local tribes and unpredictable weather, each choice you make shapes your fate. The exhibit even includes a “Wheel of Misfortune”, adding a touch of luck – or disaster – to the experience.

The exhibit emphasizes that survival wasn’t just about skill – it also depended on a bit of luck, personal priorities, and interactions with the environment. Whether you rise to the challenge or face the same fate as many colonists, American Adventure 1607 offers a fun and thought-provoking way to step into history and experience the trials of life in early America. Will you survive the year, or meet your end in the wilderness?

American Adventure 1607 is open at the Becker County Museum in Detroit Lakes Tuesday thru Saturday from 10am to 5pm. Adult tickets are $20, children are $10 and includes admission to both American Adventure as well as the museum as a whole.