These junior high kids can do a Rubik's Cube in seconds

Chase Moore, a Columbia Falls Junior High seventh grader, can solve a Rubik’s Cube in under 40 seconds.

Moore taught himself to solve the 3-D puzzle using video tutorials, but this year he found a tribe of other cubers within the junior high’s Rubik’s Cube Club, which meets every Monday and Friday during lunchtime at the library.

The club, which started this school year and sees a fluctuating five to 10 kids, began under the direction of John McNaught from Whitefish who became a cuber as a way to connect with his grandkids. McNaught’s main goal is to teach kids enough so they can teach other kids, he says. It’s a great way to build community and boost students’ social confidence, he noted.

Seventh-grader Nolan Webb learned most of what he knows from fellow classmates Moore and Olivia Jesmore, he said. Seeing his friend, Moore, rapidly complete the puzzle is what ignited Webb’s interest in cubing. Webb joined the club and can now solve a cube in just under three minutes. Watching a cuber transform a jumbled mess of colors, fingers flying, cubelets clicking, into a tidy color-coded cube is transfixing, and also what drew Alex Henson to the activity.

Henson, another member of the Rubik’s Cube Club, is pretty speedy himself with a personal best of 46 seconds. Henson, who owns about 20 cubes and practices a lot, would love to start doing competitions he said.

Solving a cube involves knowing certain algorithms, or rule sets, as McNaught calls them, to place a specific square where you want it to go. That is, if you want a square in an upper right corner to end up on the center edge of another face, you turn the toy several specific ways and it’ll get there. The trick is remembering the moves.

“Yeah, it’s more about memorization,” said Webb. “It’s a lot simpler than people make it sound.”

The cubes Webb uses to practice with are from the club. McNaught has bought a bundle of them that he lends out to the students, who typically continue teaching themselves at home through online resources like Ruwix.com or watching YouTube tutorials from Daniel Lee, an instructor McNaught recommends. McNaught believes anyone can solve a Rubik’s Cube.

“It’s all about interest, and perseverance,” he said.