A Rube Goldberg machine is a series of chain reactions that make a simple task difficult and funny! Named after the American cartoonist and artist, Rube was an engineer and he used his knowledge of working parts to draw complicated inventions for simple jobs, like wiping your mouth with a napkin. He used pulleys, inclined planes and levers. Think about what task you want to accomplish, then gather some materials and try building your own Rube Goldberg machine!
Take a look at some of Rube Goldberg’s drawings before beginning this experiment! You will laugh at his wild imagination. First decide what your machine will do! Will it turn on a light? Ring a bell? Shut a door? Feed a pet?
Items you can use:
- Dominoes
- Wooden sticks
- Wooden blocks
- String or twine
- Plastic cups
- Rubber bands
- Books
- Masking tape
- Rulers
- Cardboard
- Balls (marbles, ping pong balls, golf balls)
- Empty paper towel tubes
- Toy cars
- Spoons
What to do:
Once you have all your supplies, start by brainstorming some chain reactions. These are a sequence of reactions that release energy from one thing to the next (imagine a row of dominoes toppling down). Then practice seeing what works! Can the dominos set off a ball rolling through a paper towel tube? Could that ball also land in a way to move a toy car. Sometimes it’s easier to work backwards from the result you want and build back towards the start. The possibilities are endless, and the fun is in the trial and error!
