Students will launch the welcome-machine challenge, experience a quick chain-reaction build, and gather first-round empathy evidence about what new sixth graders may need in the new middle school building.

Students will sort evidence from interviews and observations, distinguish user needs from possible solutions, and write a clear How Might We problem statement for a welcoming Rube Goldberg machine.

Students will generate multiple welcoming Rube Goldberg concepts, compare them against user evidence and design criteria, and choose a promising direction to carry into drafting.

Students will turn selected ideas into first working Rube Goldberg welcome-machine prototypes, using science reasoning, labeled plans, and early feedback to build a testable draft that responds to real sixth-grade transition needs.

Students will test their draft Rube Goldberg welcome machines with peers and community partners, collect evidence about where the chain reaction and welcoming message succeed or break down, sort feedback into strengths, needs, and next steps, and document one required revision in their engineering journal before moving to critique.

Students will use structured critique to examine how well their Rube Goldberg welcome machines meet sixth-grade transition needs, communicate a clear welcoming message, and function reliably. They will sort evidence from peer and community feedback into strengths, needs, and next steps, then revise one specific part of the design before moving into final reflection and showcase preparation.

Students will synthesize evidence from their design process, present their tested Rube Goldberg welcome machine at the showcase, and record a final reflection explaining how community feedback, science ideas, and teamwork shaped their solution for new and returning students.