Make a Rube Goldberg Machine!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyOQojaLC14 This How-To Video shows you how to make your own Rube Goldberg machine! A Rube Goldberg machine is a series of simple machines that work together to perform one simple task. It was coined by a famous cartoonist, Rube Goldberg, whose cartoons showed numerous crazy steps to perform one task, like turning on a light!

What did you make?

I made my own Rube Goldberg machine out of household materials including: paper towel rolls, tape, paper, yarn, film canisters, a spool, marble, and a bell. The marble rolls through a series of simple machines before it accomplishes its task of ringing the bell!

How did you make it?

With all of the college preparation going on in my Junior year of high school, I have been thinking a lot about what I want to do when I grow up. One of the careers I am most interested in is engineering, so I thought I would test my problem solving ability and creativity with this project! My dad is an engineer, but I worked alone on this to see exactly what I was able to do, and see if perhaps engineering was for me. After viewing many Rube Goldberg projects, I planned out what I wanted to do. My plans initially for this project seemed simple enough, but once I began working on it, I found many obstacles. I was limited by supplies and time so I had to make do with what I had.

Where did you make it?

I made this project at home, each day using some of my spare time to add another machine to the wall. As I said earlier, I am thinking of becoming an engineer, so I wanted to see if I could use problem solving and physics to develop a complex system of simple machines.

What did you learn?

One of my biggest challenges was the pulley system. It always seemed to have some sort of problem, from the pulley twisting every which way, to the wheel not turning properly. However, after many alterations and attempts at fixing it, the pulley system began to work much more accurately. I would have to say the pulley is one of the machines I am most proud of. It was also very fun to watch the swing work as well as it did. I loved watching each of the pieces come and work together to accomplish the final task of ringing the bell! If I had to do this project again, I would not change a thing! The whole point of this project, for me, was encountering obstacles and finding new ways to fix or improve them. I enjoyed this project a lot, and I am definitely going to consider engineering in my career choices.

Enjoy the video!