Rube Goldberg Engineering: Engineering Gone Amuck

Design and Build a Rube Goldberg Machine

We’ve all seen the crazy chain-reaction contraptions called Rube Goldberg machines, named for the cartoonist who originated them as a parody of modern life. Now you can explore the creative side of engineering by designing and building your own Rube Goldberg devices.

We will start with a broad look at the principles of mechanics and design and also go over measurement and hand-tool use. Then, students will design and build interactive machines where a simple push starts a chain reaction of pulleys, dominoes and so much more. As the week progresses, our designs will become more complex, culminating in a grand finale chain reaction on the last day. Ultimately we will see how these devices, which waste time and energy to accomplish simple tasks, can be a vehicle for engineering ingenuity and artistic expression.

What You Will Learn

Experience the creative side of engineering by designing and building Rube Goldberg devices.

• Receive safety instruction.
• Learn the basics of mechanics and thermodynamics.
• Gain an understanding of what a chain reaction is and why we want to learn about this concept.
• Design and experiment with mechanisms for transferring energy from one place to another.
• Learn about hypothesis testing and the scientific method.
• Take a historical look at failure and examine how failure has led to success.
• Design, build and test a variety of Rube Goldberg machines.