RG Contraptions

Scenario:
Rube Goldberg (1883-1970) was a Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist, sculptor, and author. After
graduating from the University of California Berkeley with a degree in engineering, Rube went on to work
as an engineer for the City of San Francisco Water and Sewers Department. After six months, Rube shifted
gears and left the Sewers Department to become an office boy in the sports department of a San
Francisco newspaper. While there he began to submit drawings and cartoons to the editor until he was
finally published. Rube soon moved from San Francisco to New York to work for the Evening Mail
drawing daily cartoons. Best known for his “inventions”, Rube’s early years as an engineer informed his
most acclaimed work. A Rube Goldberg contraption – an elaborate set of arms, wheels, gears, handles,
cups, and rods, put in motion by balls, canary cages, pails, boots, bathtubs, paddles, and live animals –
takes a simple task and makes it extraordinarily complicated. (http://www.rubegoldberg.com/)
Today Rube Goldberg contraptions are often featured in movies such as Back to the Future and
Goonies, are used to provide the visual for music videos such as OK Go’s This Too Shall Pass, and even
appear in the opening credits for TV shows such as The Colbert Report. Your challenge, over the course of
the next few days, will be to design and construct a Rube Goldberg style contraption.

Materials: Tools:
Paper String/Wire Ruler
Dowel rods Polystyrene Pen/Pencil
Scrap Wood Glue Scissors
Tape Other “found” Materials Other tools, as available and can be safely
in the home setting

Problem Statement: Design and construct a Rube Goldberg style contraption.

Criteria/Constraints:
♦ Students will work individually or in pairs. If you choose to work with someone, all collaboration
must be done remotely. Remember social distancing protocols!
♦ Contraptions must demonstrate a minimum of six (6) transfers of energy.
♦ Contraptions should demonstrate creativity (i.e. variety in energy transfers, material choices)
♦ Contraptions must work reliably without human interaction.
♦ Students will video record their contraptions in action and include in their documentation.
♦ OPTIONAL – Students may elect to design their contraptions to correspond with a chosen song or
section of a song (similar to OK Go’s video for This Too Shall Pass).
Documentation:
As a key component to the Design and Problem Solving Process is the act of sharing solutions,
students will be required to create documentation that not only shares their solution but also illustrates
the process they followed to reach their final solution. Documentation can take on a variety of forms –
word document, powerpoint presentation, poster board, etc. You may select which form works best for
you/your team. Regardless of the format your documentation will take, you must include the following
steps of the Design and Problem Solving Process: Identify the Problem, Research & Investigation,
Brainstorm, Design & Construct, Test & Evaluate, Redesign. Documentation should include both written
descriptions of work, as well as visual representations of work (i.e. sketches, photos, video). See
Documentation – helpful hints for additional details.