Rube Goldberg Machines “Chain Reaction” — Bothell, Aug 3–7

Day Schedule:

Camp runs Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM. Here is what a typical day looks like:

9:00–9:15: Arrival and Warm-Up — Students settle in, revisit yesterday’s machines, and sketch updates in their Designer Notebooks.

9:15–9:45: Physics Concept of the Day — A short, hands-on demonstration introduces the day’s named concept (e.g., “Height Is Stored Speed,” lever advantage, momentum transfer). No lectures — students see the concept in action and then try it themselves with materials at their tables.

9:45–10:45: Morning Build Session — Students sketch their machine design, select their challenge level (Green, Orange, or Purple), and start building. Instructors circulate asking questions, not giving answers: “What happens if you raise the ramp? Why did the marble stop there?”

10:45–11:15: Snack + Brain Break — Snack time followed by a physical movement activity tied to the day’s physics concept. (Tuesday might be a human domino chain in the yard. Thursday might be a relay race where each runner “transfers momentum” to the next.)

11:15–12:15: Testing and Debugging — The heart of the learning. Students run their machines, watch what fails, and figure out why. Honest Check: “Does it actually work three times in a row, or did it work once by luck?” Adjustments, rebuilds, and the satisfying click of something finally working.

12:15–1:00: Lunch Break

1:00–2:30: Afternoon Build Session — The longest creative block. Early in the week, students extend their individual machines. By Wednesday and Thursday, teams begin planning how to connect their machines into the mega chain reaction. Roles rotate: Architect sketches the connection plan, Builder constructs, Tester runs trials, Presenter explains the design to the group.

2:30–2:50: Snack + Outdoor Break

2:50–3:20: Show and Tell — Students demonstrate their machines for the group. Peers practice “Slow Look”: name one detail in someone else’s machine that you almost missed. This trains the observation skills that separate good engineers from great ones.

3:20–3:45: Reflection + Tomorrow’s Teaser — What worked today, what to try tomorrow, and a sneak peek at the next physics concept. Students track their own progress across the week in their Designer Notebooks.

3:45–4:00: Pack-Up and Pickup — Clean up, secure machines for tomorrow, ready for pickup.

Friday schedule is modified: the afternoon is dedicated to the final mega chain reaction rehearsal and the live parent showcase.

“My son spent dinner explaining why his marble kept overshooting the lever — something about ‘too much stored speed’ from the height of the ramp. He was basically teaching us physics without realizing it. I have never seen him this excited about anything that didn’t have a screen.”

— Rachel M., Bellevue

“The mega chain reaction on Friday was one of the best things I’ve ever watched. Fifteen kids holding their breath while a marble traveled across the entire room through all of their machines connected together. When it reached the end and rang the bell, the kids absolutely lost it. My daughter’s section was the lever-to-pulley transition and she must have explained how it worked to every adult in the room.”

— David K., Redmond

“I signed up because it said no screens, and honestly I wasn’t sure what they’d do all day without them. Turns out building things that have to actually work in real life is way more engaging than any app. My son came home every day and immediately started building chain reactions with stuff from the recycling bin. Cardboard tubes, bottle caps, you name it. He’s still doing it weeks later.”

— Priya S., Kirkland

All building materials are provided — your child does not need to bring anything for the projects. Just pack:

• Water bottle (refill station available)
• Lunch and two snacks
• Comfortable clothes that can get a little messy (hot glue drips, marker stains, and tape residue are badges of honor in this camp)
• Closed-toe shoes (required for safety during building)

Optional but welcome: If your child wants to bring interesting household objects to incorporate into their machines — paper towel tubes, plastic cups, cardboard boxes, empty containers — we love it. Some of the best chain-reaction moments come from unexpected materials.

Safety and Well-being

Your child’s safety is our first priority. This camp uses only household and craft materials — there is no electrical equipment, no power tools, and no hazardous materials. Building supplies include cardboard, tape, wooden ramps, plastic marbles, foam blocks, dominoes, string, and similar everyday items.

The only tools requiring supervision are scissors and hot glue guns, both of which are used under direct instructor guidance. Hot glue stations are set up in a dedicated area and supervised at all times — students are taught safe handling before their first use.

Our instructor-to-student ratio ensures that every child receives appropriate attention throughout the day. All instructors are trained in first aid, and emergency contact information is collected during registration. We maintain a nut-aware environment and accommodate dietary needs and allergies — please note any requirements during enrollment.

What Your Child Will Gain:

• Physics intuition that sticks: Your child will walk away understanding concepts like potential energy, momentum transfer, and mechanical advantage — not because they memorized definitions, but because they watched a marble prove it on a ramp they built themselves.
• The engineer’s mindset — test, fail, fix: Chain-reaction machines break constantly. That is the point. Your child will learn that failure is diagnostic information, not a reason to quit. “It didn’t work” becomes “it didn’t work because…” and that shift changes everything.
• Teamwork that actually requires teamwork: Connecting individual machines into one mega chain reaction means your child’s machine has to work with someone else’s. They have to communicate, compromise, and coordinate — real collaboration, not just sitting at the same table.
• Spatial reasoning and design thinking: Sketching a machine before building it, measuring ramp heights, predicting where a marble will land — your child practices the kind of spatial and planning skills that show up later in math, science, and any hands-on profession.
• Persistence through frustration: When a chain reaction fails at step six of eight, the instinct is to give up. Your child will learn to isolate the problem, fix just that piece, and try again. That patient, systematic persistence is worth more than any single physics concept.

Location

Ukrainian Cultural Center Toloka, 1940 124th Ave NE A108/A109, Bellevue, WA 98004
We are excited to partner with Ukrainian Cultural Center Toloka to bring this amazing camp to life!

Visit our Parent FAQ Page.