1. Rube Goldberg Challenge
iArts Class
Fall 2012

2. The Challenge Background
Rube Goldberg’s award-winning cartoons satirized machines and gadgets. These cartoons combined simple machines and common household items to create complex and wacky contraptions that accomplished mundane and trivial tasks.
His inventions became so widely known that Webster’s Dictionary added “Rube Goldberg” to its listing, defining it as “accomplishing by complex, roundabout means what seemingly could be done simply.”

3. Example of Rube Goldberg Cartoon

4. Pop a Balloon Students’ Challenge
Students designed and built a Rube Goldberg machine. A good Rube Goldberg design incorporates the everyday machines people are used to seeing and connects them in ways that may seem wacky or ingenious. The students’ challenge was to construct a contraption that uses at least six different steps/stages to complete the following task:
Pop a Balloon

5. Machine Guidelines
Some of the more challenging guidelines for this machine included:
Having only one human interaction with the machine to start the action
There must be at least three different simple machines used in the contraption
The machine should have a theme
Energy must be transferred up at least three inches somewhere in the run of the machine
A Rube Goldberg machine should make you smile!

6. The BLU JONs Builders League United, James – Olivia - Nathan

7. Team Swag Daniel – Noah - Alex

8. The Arts Joanny – Aaron - CJ

9. Three Neon Green Kikachus Emma – Amelia - Jordan

10. Challenge Wrap-up
All teams were successful in creating a contraption that met all the criteria AND popped the balloon! (Some kept us guessing right to the end) The engineering design process was deeply imbedded in this course with students experiencing successes, failures, and redesigns. I am extremely proud of the students’ success and the learning that took place during this course. They all adapted to working in a team, developed their talents in this process, and had to depend on each other to accomplish this challenge. We all had an amazing experience! Mrs. Sharon Freeze, Librarian – Hilburn Academy