Children’s Engineering Bringing Children’s Engineering to the Elementary Classrooms Unit #9 Motion, Wind & Solar Power Introduction of Rube Goldberg Created by Miss Kelley Davis (kdavis@pagecounty.k12.va.us) Page County Public Schools Division-Wide STEM Coach

Who was Rube Goldberg? He was born July 4, 1883. He loved to draw from a young age. He earned a degree in mining engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. He got his first job as an engineer for the City of San Francisco Water and Sewer Department. At age 24, he got a job as a cartoonist for New York’s Evening Mail. This led to his famous “invention” series of comics. In 1930, he wrote a script called Soup to Nuts which later became known as The Three Stooges. In 1948, he won a Pulitzer for his cartoons. Rube Goldberg died December 7, 1970. His drawings, song recordings, sculptures, and bigger-than-life Rube Goldberg machines are featured in the National Museum of American History.

What is a Rube Goldberg design? Rube Goldberg was a cartoonist who designed overly complicated machines that fixed everyday problems. In 1931, the Merriam-Webster Dictionary included the word “Rube Goldberg” as an adjective meaning accomplishing by complex means what seemingly could be done simply.

Here are a few classic examples…

Here are a few classic examples…

Here are a few classic examples…

Here are a few classic examples…

Rube Goldberg Machine Click on the princess to watch a commercial of a Rube Goldberg invention created by 3 hopeful princesses! Click on the Rube Goldberg invention to see a video of Rube Goldberg’s granddaughter create a new way to zip your clothes!

So what does Rube have to do with STEM? You will find many of the 10 Big Ideas of STEM in all of his creations!!!