At the beginning of each show the challenge of the day was revealed and teams attempted to collect "bodgits" by completing small challenges. "Bodgits" were helpful advantages that teams could earn, including time with the on-set engineer or special parts for use in their build. Two identical school buses filled with junk were given to the teams, who had six hours to create their contraptions.
In a positive review, The San Diego Union-Tribune television critic Roshni Kakaiya wrote, "I really recommend this show to everyone, even younger kids. The story has a lot of meaning. If I could rate this on a scale of colors, black being the worst and gold being the best, I would rate this show silver."2 Calling the show "entertaining and educational", The Dallas Morning News's Jeanne Spreier gave it an A-minus, writing that it "gets high marks for all sorts of reasons, not the least of which is using words such as release valve, psi gauge and propulsion—and making them synonymous with fun".3
Byrne, Bridget (October 3, 2002). "'Operation Junkyard': In New TV Series, Kids Race To Build Makeshift Machines". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on March 23, 2024. Retrieved March 23, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240323090728/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2002/10/03/operation-junkyard/84cd7292-56d4-4b72-a5ae-5e2b2f33c121/ ↩
Kakaiya, Roshni (February 8, 2003). "Discovery Kids' "Operation Junkyard: Battleship"". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on March 23, 2024. Retrieved March 23, 2024. https://archive.today/20240323090718/https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&docref=news/116D3A1276199A81&f=basic ↩
Spreier, Jeanne (September 29, 2002). "Discovery shows bring energy to NBC's Saturday morning lineup". The Dallas Morning News. Archived from the original on March 23, 2024. Retrieved March 23, 2024. https://archive.today/20240323090643/https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&docref=news/0F6710CB8F75D40D&f=basic ↩