// week 06 · day 05 · friday · exhibition day · the tribe sets out

Exhibition Day.

The runway ends here. Families walk in. Lip Dub premieres. Studio Contract gets signed. Launch Circles happen with parents and Sparks in real circles. And then the afternoon: we close the chapter — reflect, decide what to carry forward, and stand on what we built. Six weeks ago a room of strangers. Today, a tribe.

EXHIBITION Signed Contract Ceremony BTT Closing
01

The day's purpose

By 3:30 today, families have witnessed what was built. Every learner has signed the Studio Contract. The Lip Dub is shared. The studio has named what carries forward into the rest of the year.

02

Supplies & setup

03

Minute by minute

8:00 – 8:25 · 25 minarrival

Arrival & Free Time

Thinking Puzzle (the last one of BTT): "In one word: what was the most important thing you learned about yourself in these six weeks?"

8:30 – 8:50 · 20 minlaunch

Morning Launch — The Exhibition Day opener

The opener (3 min):

"Today's the day. Six weeks ago we walked into this room as strangers. Today we walk in as a tribe. By the end of today, our families will have seen what we built, and we'll have closed BTT. After Exhibition we'll have lunch, and the afternoon is for reflection — what carries forward, what we leave behind, who we are now."

The framing (10 min):

"A few things to hold today: (1) Trust the practice. You've done this. The Lip Dub is in the can. The Contract is ready. Your Launch is yours. (2) Be present. When you're with a Spark in your Launch Circle, you're not 'leading them' — you're with them. (3) Take care of each other. Someone will get nervous. Someone will trip on a line. We support each other. (4) Have fun. This is a gift. We earned it."

The close (5 min):

"Final check — does anyone need anything before families arrive? Any nerves we want to name out loud? Then let's do final setup and bring it home."

8:50 – 9:00 · 10 mindaily rhythm

Habit & Character Goals — last one of BTT

Standard rhythm but a special prompt: "Your goal today is the trait you want families to see in you."

9:00 – 9:40 · 40 minmath

Math Time

Standard rhythm. Yes — math still happens on Exhibition Day. Holds the rhythm. Anchors the morning.

9:40 – 9:50 · 10 minexit ticket

Rocket Math

Standard rhythm.

9:50 – 10:15 · 25 minsnack

Snack & final preparation

Eat. Hydrate. The Maintenance Captain leads a final walk-through of the space. Welcoming Committee is at their post by end of snack.

10:15 – 11:20 · 65 minfinal rehearsal + family arrival

Final Rehearsal Block + Family Arrival Window

(30 min) Final mini-rehearsal: walk through the Contract reading one more time. Confirm Launch Circle assignments. Test Lip Dub audio one final time.

(15 min) Final regroup: studio circle. Last words from the guide. Last questions from learners.

(20 min) Family arrival window: families start arriving. Welcoming Committee greets and seats. Learners are at their positions.

11:20 – 12:00 · 40 minEXHIBITION — movements 1 + 2

EXHIBITION — Lip Dub Premiere + Studio Contract Reading

(5 min) Opening: guide gives the brief framing. "Welcome. What you're about to see is six weeks of work. We're going to share three things — a Lip Dub, our Studio Contract, and then we're going to invite you into the work. Here we go."

(8 min) The Lip Dub: intro by the camera operator ("This is one shot, filmed by me, performed by everyone, after [X] practices. Watch the screen."). Play. Applause. Brief explanation of what a lip dub is.

(20 min) Studio Contract reading + signing ceremony:

  • Studio stands in a circle (families seated around)
  • Guide opens: "Six weeks ago we didn't know what this would say. Today this is who we are." Then each learner reads their assigned line.
  • After all lines are read: signing. Each learner stands, walks to the table, signs the wall copy + their personal copy. Then sits.
  • Guide signs last.
  • The signed Contract is held up. Applause.

(7 min) Transition to Launch Circles: guide explains the next 30 minutes. "Each of our learners has prepared a small group Launch. They'll lead a circle with Sparks, fellow D2 learners, and you — their families. Find the circle assigned to your learner. The signs will guide you. You're going to be facilitated by a 9-year-old. Trust it."

12:00 – 1:00 · 60 minlunch

Lunch — families optional

Families either stay (if hospitality allows) or come back for the afternoon. Standard learner lunch otherwise. Use the time to thank the leadership roles privately — Welcoming Committee, Tribe Photographer, Cross-Studio Ambassador (who is in charge of getting Sparks/Explorations ready for the afternoon).

1:00 – 1:45 · 45 minEXHIBITION — movement 3

EXHIBITION — Launch Circles

This is the heart of Exhibition. Each D2 learner leads their own Launch Circle. Each circle has:

  • 1 D2 learner (the facilitator)
  • 1–2 Spark learners
  • 1–2 other D2 learners (as supporters/participants)
  • The facilitator's family (parents, possibly siblings)
  • Optionally: 1 Exploration learner

Each circle has about 30 minutes to run their Launch. The format follows the Launch Plan template:

  1. Open (2 min): facilitator welcomes the circle, introduces themselves, names the guiding question.
  2. Activity (~20 min): the planned activity (Two Truths and a Wish, Same/Different/Interesting, Would You Rather, a curated discussion, etc.). See Exhibition page for the full activity menu.
  3. Close (3–5 min): reflection. What did people notice? Each circle ends with one round of "I want to thank ___ for ___."

Guide circulates. Doesn't intervene unless something is genuinely off the rails. The facilitator's job is the facilitator's job today.

// conflict watch

Younger Sparks may not behave perfectly in circles. That's okay. Coach the D2 facilitators in advance: "If a Spark struggles, you don't shame, you redirect. Just like we treat each other in the studio."

1:45 – 2:00 · 15 minfamily farewell

Family Farewell & D2 Regroup

Each circle wraps. Families head out (or stay for a few minutes for photos). Cross-Studio Ambassadors walk Sparks back to their studio. D2 regroups in the studio.

2:00 – 2:50 · 50 minbtt closing reflection

BTT Closing Reflection

The closing chapter. Studio sits in a circle.

  • (10 min) Exhibition reflection: what felt right? What did you notice about families? Sparks? Yourselves?
  • (15 min) The keep / refine / let go conversation: three columns on the whiteboard. As a studio: what do we want to KEEP doing the rest of the year? What do we want to REFINE? What do we want to LET GO?
  • (15 min) "Keep the Standard" discussion: the Standard of Excellence posters are still up. The Contract is signed. What does keeping these posters alive actually look like next month? Three months from now? When BTT is a distant memory?
  • (10 min) Final round: each learner finishes the sentence "After six weeks I know that I ___." Guide closes last.
2:50 – 3:30 · 40 minbtt closing ceremony

Final Studio Maintenance · BTT Closing Ceremony · Pickup

(10 min) Maintenance: studio gets reset for Monday. The Maintenance Captain's last duty.

(15 min) Final Character Callouts: the last callouts of BTT. Encourage looking back across the whole 6 weeks — "I want to call out [learner] for something from Week 1 I'm still thinking about."

(10 min) BTT Closing Ceremony:

  • Stand in a circle.
  • Guide gives the final framing: "Six weeks ago we walked into a room as strangers. We built rules together. We built a Contract together. We made a Lip Dub. We led our families through Launches. We've earned the title 'tribe.' What's next is the rest of the year. We carry what we built today into Monday. See you Monday — heroes."
  • Group "see you Monday" call-and-response, or a chosen tradition.

(5 min) Pickup.

04

Post-Exhibition · for the guide

Weekend reflection

Saturday morning, write 30 minutes about BTT. What worked. What didn't. What you'd do differently. What was unforgettable. This goes into the year-archive folder. Next year's guide will read it.

Send the post-Exhibition email

Saturday or Sunday: a thank-you email to families. Include 1-2 photos. Reference one specific moment. "What you witnessed Friday was real work, done by real learners. Thank you for trusting us with these six weeks."

Archive the artifacts

Save: the signed Contract (photographed), the final Studio Manual v1, photos of all Standard of Excellence posters, the final Lip Dub file (with a backup), photos from Exhibition. This is the studio's birth certificate.

Monday's plan

Monday is the start of the next quest. Have the morning launch already planned this weekend. The studio will need a clean handoff — they don't want to land in "wait, what now?"

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