Rube Goldberg Machines

A) Objective: To build a complex machine that will complete a simple task using as many steps as possible. Students are given an hour daily thoughout the week to complete the machine.

B) Time: Total of 5 hours, one hour per day for a week.

C) Materials:

• List of materials:
  The beauty of Rube Goldberg machines is that absolutely anything goes for materials. We found the following useful:
  1. balls and marbles of different sizes and weights: ping pong balls, golfballs, marbles, etc.
  2. cardboard tubes
  3. plastic containers, styrofoam trays, egg cartons
  4. a wooden stand of some sort
  5. fabric and wire
  6. glue, tape, tacks
  7. pie plates, plastic utensils, disposable cups
  8. dominoes and small mobile toys (toy cars)
  9. rubber tubing and bicycle tubing (beer and wine and bicycle stores usually give away)
  10. miscellaneous small motors, wires, and batteries
• Materials found: beer and wine stores, bicycle stores, local sponsors, recyclisng depots, telephone companies, restaurant chains, sport centers.
• Cost per student: varies depending on how much is donated. The 1996 Goldberg supplieswere almost all donated which kept costs extremely low.

D) Theory:
Rube Goldberg machines are devices that are designed to perform a specific task in numerous insignificant, yet complicated, steps. The combined efforts of each step ultimately leads to the execution of a simple task. In the 1940s, newpaper sketches drawn by man named Rube Goldberg depicted crazy inventions designed to do anything from fanning your soup to feeding the dog. Rube's crazy inventions are still being created today by many whose imaginations and creativity have been captured by the conceptsof th rowing junk together to create a machine.
At Science ALiVE!, the 1996 students were required to ring a bell, set off a baking soda and vinegar volcano(one of which could be placed into a paper mache volcano,) employ at least one lever or pulley, and use at least two marbles for separate tasks.
Goldbergs are a lot of fun and excitement for all ages. You can vary the difficulty for the ages depending on the task chosen to be completed and any other stipulations you choose to add to the task(e.g. limit tape, include a pulley. complete an electric circuit.) The following are some possible tasks that children could try.
Kaboom!!! ...Pop a balloon using marbles, dominoes, and limited tape.
Yawn ...It's midnight and you are too lazy to get up and turn off the lights. Create a machine to do it for you.
Lazy Mailperson ...Create a machine to open your mail for you.
Hungry? ...Create a machine to put together a ham and cheese sandwich for you.
The Sky's the Limit ...You can build a mochine for most any thing!!!

E) Procedure:

• Each team is given a common goal for their machine, as well as a Goldberg stand. The goal should be obtainable by various methods.
• The machine should have more than one distinctive step.
• Children are encouraged to bring materials from home and try asmany different ideas as possible.
• Set up large boxes and ice cream buckets full of salvageable materials and "garbage."
• Judging can be performed in a variety of way. In 1996, every Goldberg machine was given an awrd of some type (biggest, best eruption, strangest, etc.)

F) Helpful Hints:

• Ensure that students have a vague plan before starting construction. Plans avoid unrealistic goals and help to streamline team efforts.
• Routine testing of the machines will be required.
• Discovery is a major component of this exercise. Letting the children find their own errors and correct them theselves seemed to invoke a sense of pride in their creations. Less help can be better.
• One new idea is to give each group a box containing supplies to build with. Supply boxes should differ in content between groups. The groups can use what is in their box or trade with other groups for materials, mut may not go outside of these boxes f or supplies. This reduces the chaos that occurs as students dive into camp or classroom supplies to build with, and encourages cooperation with other groups and cuts down on costs.

G) Related Links

• The Rube Goldberg page at the National Cartoonists Society
• The Rube Goldberg Machine Contest Home Page at the Argonne National Laboratory.