We build real things
out of nearly nothing.

Say each step, wait, say the next. Do not build it for them.

1. Trace a large circle onto chipboard using a bowl as a template.
2. Cut it out.
3. Punch one hole near the top edge.
4. Write your name across the middle in big letters.
5. Decorate the border with gems or marker.
6. Thread the cord through the hole and tie it.

Say each step, wait, say the next. Do not build it for them.

1. Fold a rectangle of cardstock in half like a tent.
2. Write your name on one face in big letters.
3. Fold small tabs out from the bottom edges so it stands without leaning.
4. Decorate with gems, marker, or cut-paper shapes.
5. Stand it up and test it.

Say each step, wait, say the next. Do not build it for them.

1. Cut a rectangle or a shape of your choice from cardstock as the base.
2. Write your name across it in big bubble or block letters.
3. Glue a smaller cutout shape on top, raised, for depth.
4. Add gems, sequins, or chenille stems around the edges.
5. Punch a hole and add a cord if you want to wear it, or leave it flat for your table spot.

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1. Cut a shoebox lid into a ramp.
2. Tape it inside a shoe box at an angle.
3. Cut three holes in the far wall.
4. Write 10, 20, 50 above them.
5. Tape a strip along each side so the ball can't fall out.
6. Roll a ping pong ball and adjust the ramp angle.

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1. Cut two identical rectangles about 12 by 14.
2. Cut a slot halfway down the middle of each, one from the top, one from the bottom.
3. Slide them together into an X.
4. Cut a 14 by 14 square for the seat.
5. Slot or tape the seat onto the X.
6. If there's time, add a second X underneath turned 90 degrees.

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1. Roll three tight cardboard tubes.
2. Tape them into a tripod.
3. Cut three short strips and tape them across the legs as cross braces.
4. Tape a flat square on top.
5. Stack a second tripod on top if there's time.

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1. Cut a cardboard rectangle for the body.
2. Tape two straws across the underside, front and back, parallel.
3. Push a skewer through each straw.
4. Push a cardboard circle onto each skewer end.
5. Glue where wheel meets skewer, never where skewer meets straw.
6. Roll test and fix the wobble.

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1. Build the straw axle car first.
2. Tape a spool (an empty tape roll core) onto the rear axle.
3. Tie a string to the spool and wind it up.
4. Run the string over the table edge with a weight on the end.
5. Let go and watch. Add weight until it stops.

Say each step, wait, say the next. Do not build it for them.

1. Build the straw axle car first.
2. Tape a straw pointing straight back off the rear.
3. Rubber band a balloon over the end of the straw.
4. Blow through the straw to inflate.
5. Pinch, place, release.

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1. Cut two long strips about 30 inches.
2. Fold each into a long triangle tube and tape it shut.
3. Tape the two tubes side by side with 4 inch spacers between them.
4. Tape a flat deck across the top.
5. Test with one book, then add.

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1. Cut two large triangles the same size.
2. Cut two long rectangles for the sides.
3. Tape the rectangles to the triangles to form an A shape.
4. Tape a long strip along the ridge.
5. Cut a door flap in one triangle.

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1. Cut five identical rectangles.
2. Glue them into a stack, turning the corrugation direction 90 degrees each layer.
3. Cut two matching end pieces.
4. Cut slots in the ends and slide the shelf in.
5. Load it up.

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1. Build a square base from four cardboard strips.
2. Tape two uprights in the middle with a skewer across as a pivot.
3. Tape a long arm to the skewer with a small cup on the end.
4. Loop a rubber band from the arm down to the front of the base.
5. Pull back and release.
6. Move the rubber band anchor to change the range.

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1. Cut a round hole about 3 inches across in the bottom of a box.
2. Tape a trash bag or shower cap over the open end, loose not tight.
3. Tape all the edges airtight.
4. Pull the membrane back and snap it.
5. Aim at a cup, then at a candle.

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1. Cut a long thin body from cereal box card.
2. Cut two wings and slot them into the body.
3. Cut a tail fin and slot it in.
4. Tape a paper clip to the nose.
5. Notch the tail and launch it off a rubber band hooked to a stick.
6. If it dives, bend the back edges of the wing up.

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1. Take a shallow box.
2. Cut a goal notch in each short end.
3. Punch holes for four skewers running across the box.
4. Slide the skewers through and tape clothespins or cardboard tabs on as players.
5. Drop a ping pong ball in and play.

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1. Take a box lid and prop the far end up 2 inches.
2. Tape a channel down one side for the launch lane.
3. Rubber band a cardboard plunger at the bottom of the lane.
4. Tape bottle caps and folded card triangles down as bumpers.
5. Cut scoring holes and label them.

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1. Cut a flat base about 12 by 12.
2. Cut long strips 1 inch tall.
3. Glue the strips on edge to make a path.
4. Punch three holes as traps.
5. Tape a rim around the whole outside edge.
6. Drop a marble in and play.

Say each step, wait, say the next. Do not build it for them.

1. Build the straw axle car (session 2).
2. Hook a rubber band to the rear axle.
3. Stretch it forward and hook it on a bent paper clip taped to the front.
4. Roll the car backward to wind it up.
5. Set it down and let go.

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1. Roll a tube from cardboard, wide enough for a ping pong ball.
2. Cut a slot down one side about 4 inches long.
3. Make a plunger disc on a stick that slides inside the tube.
4. Run a rubber band from the stick, out through the slot, to the front of the tube.
5. Pull back, load a ball, release.

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1. Build a ramp from a folded strip.
2. At the bottom, balance a cardboard flap on a pivot.
3. Roll a marble down so it tips the flap.
4. Tape a string from the flap to a stack of cups.
5. Test until the cups fall every single time.

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1. Cut two cardboard strips and join them with a brass fastener as a hinge.
2. Fill two syringes with water and connect them with tubing, no air bubbles.
3. Tape one syringe body to the lower arm and its plunger end to the upper arm.
4. Push the other syringe and watch the arm move.
5. Tape a small cup on the end.

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1. Tape a bottle cap with a hole drilled in it to the center of a stiff cardboard disc.
2. Punch a matching hole through the disc.
3. Stretch a balloon over the cap.
4. Inflate through the cap, pinch, place, release.

Say each step, wait, say the next. Do not build it for them.

1. Tape a length of tubing tightly into the neck of an empty 2L bottle, sealed.
2. Roll a paper tube that slides loosely over the free end of the tubing.
3. Tape one end of the paper tube shut and add three fins.
4. Set the bottle on the floor, aim, and stomp.

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1. Make an open cube from cardboard.
2. Punch holes in two opposite sides and slide a skewer through.
3. Glue an off-center cardboard circle (the cam) onto the skewer inside the box.
4. Cut a hole in the box top and rest a second skewer down onto the cam.
5. Tape a figure to the top of the vertical skewer.
6. Bend a crank handle onto the end of the first skewer.

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1. Trace three cardboard circles, one big and two small.
2. Cut teeth by making even notches around each edge. Use the template.
3. Push a brass fastener through each center into a cardboard base.
4. Space them so the teeth mesh with a little room.
5. Turn the big one and watch the small ones spin faster.

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1. Tape a tall cardboard back panel upright.
2. Tape angled strips across it, alternating direction, about 3 inches apart.
3. Leave a gap at the end of each strip for the marble to drop through.
4. Add walls so the marble stays on.
5. Time it, then add more switchbacks to slow it down.

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1. Fold a card.
2. Lay copper tape in a path from the battery spot to the LED spot and back. Never cut the tape at a corner, fold it.
3. Tape the LED legs down, long leg to the positive path.
4. Set the coin cell on its pad.
5. Fold the card so a flap presses the battery down. That flap is your switch.

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1. Bend a stiff wire into a wavy course.
2. Push both ends into a cardboard base.
3. Make a handle: a loop of wire on a stick.
4. Wire the battery, buzzer, wire course, and loop into one circle using alligator clips.
5. Touch the loop to the course and hear it.

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1. Tape three markers to a cup, points down, as legs.
2. Tape a pager motor to the top rim.
3. Tape a battery holder next to it.
4. Connect the two wires.
5. Set it on paper and let it draw.
6. Move the motor off center to change the path.

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1. Cut eight identical cardboard strips.
2. Punch a hole at each end and one in the middle of every strip.
3. Join them into X pairs with brass fasteners, then chain the pairs together.
4. Push and pull the base pair and watch it extend.
5. Tape two hooked flaps on the far end as jaws.

Say each step, wait, say the next. Do not build it for them.

1. Cut a body panel.
2. Cut four leg strips.
3. Fasten two legs to a crank skewer through the body, offset half a turn from each other.
4. Fasten the other two legs to a fixed pivot higher up.
5. Turn the crank slowly and adjust leg length until it steps.

Say each step, wait, say the next. Do not build it for them.

1. Guide runs a teaching clinic instead of a build.
2. How to ask 'what have you tried' instead of showing.
3. How to keep your hands down.
4. How to check whether they actually understood.
5. Then the pairs go and build.

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1. Marble rolls down a ramp.
2. Marble knocks over a standing domino stack.
3. The falling stack tugs a string that releases the next marble.
4. Build exactly that.
5. Then walk it over and connect it to a neighbor's segment.

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1. Guide's group owns the last three feet of the machine and the target.
2. Build the ending first so there is always a finish line.
3. Make it reliable before anyone connects to it.
4. Test it 10 times alone.
5. Then hand the input end to the club.

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1. Cut a 12 inch square backing panel. This is the module.
2. Fold a long strip into a U channel.
3. Tape the channel diagonally across the panel.
4. Marble must enter top left and exit bottom right. Every time.
5. That entry and exit rule is the spec everyone in the room follows.

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1. Cut a base exactly 8 inches square. No exceptions, this is the spec.
2. Build four walls that sit inside the base edge.
3. Cut a door on one side facing a street edge.
4. Add a flat roof.
5. Set it next to a neighbor's and check the streets line up.

Say each step, wait, say the next. Do not build it for them.

1. Cut a panel with a window in it.
2. Make a slider strip that passes behind the window.
3. Draw two states on the strip: before and after.
4. Add a pull tab.
5. Add one label of five words or fewer.

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1. Fold a long strip into a ramp with side rails.
2. Prop it on a box.
3. Cut a doorway gate from a panel and stand it 12 inches past the ramp bottom.
4. Make the gate exactly 1 inch wider than the widest car.
5. Test with a car and adjust.

Say each step, wait, say the next. Do not build it for them.

1. Build the session 1 skee-ball ramp again.
2. Add a paper circuit behind the 50 point hole.
3. Lay the copper tape so a landing ball presses two contacts together.
4. LED lights when they score.
5. Test it twenty times before anyone plays.

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1. Build a tall box with a stack tube inside holding cardboard discs.
2. Cut a slot at the bottom exactly one disc tall.
3. Make a slide that pushes one disc out and blocks the next one.
4. Tie the slide to a lever on the outside.
5. Pull the lever. One comes out.

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1. Tape a tube upright to a wall at a marked height.
2. Mark the height on the wall in inches.
3. Tape a target square on the floor below.
4. Drop the object and record what happened.
5. Do it twice and compare.

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1. Cut identical 18 inch square panels.
2. Cut 3 inch slots at the same two spots on every panel edge.
3. Slide panels together at right angles.
4. Show that any panel fits any other panel.
5. The guided group becomes the panel factory for the whole club.

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1. Cut five curved strips, each slightly wider than the last.
2. Overlap them like roof shingles along a forearm.
3. Punch and fasten each overlap with a brass fastener, loose not tight.
4. Add a strip of cardstock or elastic underneath to hold it on.
5. Bend your wrist and check it still moves.

Say each step, wait, say the next. Do not build it for them.

1. Build the session 8 cam box.
2. Instead of one figure, mount three vertical skewers on three cams.
3. Offset each cam by a third of a turn.
4. Tape a shape on each skewer.
5. Crank slowly and watch the wave move.

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1. Build a three-sided box open at the front.
2. Cut the opening to the exact width the robotics team specified.
3. Add a ramped floor so scored objects roll to the back.
4. Add a hinged flap so the goal can be emptied.
5. Measure twice before cutting anything.

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1. Measure an existing bin.
2. Cut a face panel that fits the front.
3. Cut a window in it.
4. Write the label in big letters.
5. Tape it on and fill the bin.

Say each step, wait, say the next. Do not build it for them.

1. Guide runs the interview clinic instead of a build.
2. What three questions do you ask before you build anything for someone?
3. Write them down.
4. Then the group builds the simplest accepted request together.
5. Deliver it in person.

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1. Run Tower Trials again (session 1C) with a 20 minute clock and no fan.
2. Same three tubes, same tripod.
3. Race the clock, not each other.
4. Test at the buzzer.
5. Talk about what took so long in September.

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1. Guide picks one build, usually the racer, and runs an improvement clinic.
2. Check wheel alignment first.
3. Then reduce weight.
4. Then reduce friction.
5. One change at a time, test after each. That rule is the lesson.

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1. Guided group gets the simplest brief.
2. Example: something that moves a marble three feet without you touching it.
3. Read it together and underline the constraint.
4. Build it step by step.
5. Read the brief again at the end and check.

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1. Two dead simple, high success fixes.
2. The door stop: fold a wedge, layer it, test it.
3. The cord keeper: cut a slotted rectangle and wind the cord.
4. Install both somewhere real.
5. Go back next week and see if they are still there.

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1. Cut a rectangle base.
2. Cut four walls and tape them up.
3. Cut divider strips with slots halfway down.
4. Slot them together into a grid.
5. Drop the grid in and fill it.

Say each step, wait, say the next. Do not build it for them.

1. Wrap a tool handle in layers of corrugated cardboard.
2. Tape each layer down.
3. Try using it with a glove on, or with one hand.
4. Add or remove layers until it feels right.
5. Hand it to someone else and watch.

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1. Build a low, wide cardboard sled.
2. Tape a wedge on the front so it slides under things.
3. Add weight to the back.
4. Push from a start line on a taped circle.
5. Whoever leaves the circle loses.

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1. Build a simple layered beam.
2. Span it between two chairs.
3. Add books one at a time and count.
4. Add one layer and repeat.
5. Write both numbers on the board.

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1. Write one rule.
2. Now try to cheat your own rule.
3. Fix the rule.
4. Repeat twice more.
5. Then build the thing the rules need.

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1. Cut a base.
2. Add three walls.
3. Add one divider.
4. Add one label with their name on it.
5. Deliver it in person, today.

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1. Build the straw axle car.
2. Double the cardboard everywhere.
3. Tape a push stick to the back.
4. Round every single corner.
5. Hand it to someone and let them try to break it.

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1. Balance a strip on a dowel.
2. Mark the pivot points along it.
3. Add weights and move the pivot.
4. Ask a viewer to predict before each move.
5. That prediction moment is the whole demo.

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1. Build the cam box from session 8.
2. Add a copper tape contact so the cam closes a circuit at the top of each turn.
3. The LED blinks once per rotation.
4. Two mechanisms, one input.
5. Add a third if there is time.

Say each step, wait, say the next. Do not build it for them.

1. Take the session 8 gearbox.
2. Mesh one more gear onto the end.
3. Before turning it, predict which way the new gear will spin.
4. Turn it and check.
5. Add one more and predict again.

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1. Cross two strings inside a box with four holes.
2. Tie them so pulling one moves another in an unexpected way.
3. Seal the box completely.
4. Let people pull the strings.
5. Do not open it until every single person has guessed.

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1. Guide runs the license station only.
2. The three cuts: score and fold, slot, notch.
3. The two safety rules.
4. The one cleanup rule.
5. Everything else in the room is learner run.

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1. Cut a panel.
2. Big letters, five words maximum.
3. One color only.
4. Mount it where the problem happens, not by the door.
5. Check it in a week and see if it worked.

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1. Build a strong box with a lid.
2. Layer the corners.
3. Write the open-on date huge across the top.
4. Put in one build and one letter.
5. Tape it shut in front of everyone.

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1. Ask: what is the smallest version of your build that already does something?
2. Write that down.
3. Build only that today.
4. Test it.
5. Everything else is session 23.

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1. Run the panel factory from session 14.
2. Cut identical panels with identical slots.
3. Supply the whole club.
4. Track how many panels the structure needs.
5. That count is the plan.