Preview:
Rube Goldberg Device Construction, a Math/Science/Technology Project
(Honors Only)

Preface:

Before becoming a popular cartoonist, Rube Goldberg (1880-1970) went to engineering school and designed sewer pipes for the city of San Francisco. While waste disposal was not his true calling, learning about engineering and machinery helped him develop his unique cartoon style.

Rube invented a cartoon character named Professor Lucifer Gorgonzola Butts, who did very simple things in an extremely roundabout, complicated way. For example, in one comic strip, the professor designed an automatic stamp licker. It worked my making a robot dip a can of ants onto the gummy side of postage stamps. An anteater was then let loose to wet the stamps while licking up the ants.

Today, Rube Goldberg contests are held all over North America. Students get together and design complicated machines to do something simple such as planting a seed.

From http://www.rube-goldberg.com and ??????

 

Guidelines:

Objective:

To propel a soft gummy candy a minimum of 12 inches into a team member's mouth.

Teams may be made up of one to four people.

Rules:

Contest Scoring:

Minimum five steps using three energy forms, task completed 25 points
Correct flow chart for device 5 points
Each additional step past five 15 points
Use of four energy forms 5 points
Use of five energy forms 10 points
Restarting device (each time) -20 points
Touching device (each time) -10 points
Final task not completed -15 points

Prizes:

First Place - A pint of ice cream for each team member, your choice of flavors, to be eaten in class

Second Place - A box of candy for each team member, your choice, to be eaten in class

Third Place - One lollipop for each team member

Grading:

This activity is meant to be fun and will involve a grade based largely on participation and effort and not on how your team does in the competition.

evidence of planning ahead and forethought 10 points
little evidence of planning ahead and forethought 5 points
no evidence of planning ahead and forethought 0 points
large degree of involvement and cooperation among team members 10 points
small  degree of involvement and cooperation among team members 5 points
no degree of involvement and cooperation among team members 0 points
evidence of problem solving and testing of device 10 points
very little problem solving and testing of device 5 points
no problem solving and testing of device 0 points
Creativity in naming your device 0 to 5 points

Suggestions:

Materials:

You may bring in anything else from home to use in your device.

Tools Available: