Splash, Pop, Fizz: Rube Goldberg Machines
Refreshed with an understanding of the six simple machines; screw, wedge, pully, incline plane, wheel and axle, and lever, student groups receive materials and an allotted amount of time to act as mechanical engineers to design and create machines that can complete specified tasks. For the competition, they choose from pre-determined goal options such as: 1) dumping goldfish into a bowl, 2) popping a balloon, or 3) dropping mint candies into soda pop (creating a fizzy reaction). Students demonstrate their functioning contraptions to the class, earning points for using all six simple machines, successful transitions from one chain reaction to the next, and completion of the end goal.
Students fully engage in the creation of their Rube Goldberg contraptions.Copyright 2012 Tolga Kaya, Central Michigan University
Students act as mechanical engineers to design and create machines that combine multiple parts and functions to ultimately complete goals. Even if the Rube Goldberg machine steps are silly and inefficient, they parallel the work of mechanical engineers who design and create machines to complete the tasks of our human lives. For example, for cars to operate as intended, mechanical engineers must design each part to work perfectly with all the other vehicle parts with which it interacts. The steering wheel must correctly work with the axle and wheels (an example of a simple machine) so that the vehicle can be turned. Engineers follow the steps of the engineering design process to ensure that designs meet specified requirements and constraints. Even after a successful test of a design, engineers go back through the process to determine how to make the design work even better.
After this activity, students should be able to:
- Describe the six simple machines and create a design that incorporates them all.
- Use given materials and apply engineering skills to create a physical, functioning machine that completes a specified goal.
- Work collaboratively as a team to build a complex device that incorporates at least one of each of the six simple machines: incline plane, screw, pulley, wheel and axle, lever, and wedge.