Our Rube Goldberg project has a total of 11 steps, and the final goal is to raise an American Flag. Our group is Caleb Clifton, Dalton Goodman, and Cory Baumgart.

Step 1: Marble Run

The first step of our Rube Goldberg machine is a marble run, using gravity to propel the marble towards step two. We made it from paper tracks that we had previously used in a marble roller-coaster. Any kind of marble track will work, of any length.

Step 2: Marble Catcher+Pivot

The second step is the marble catcher and pivot. We made this using a wooden ruler cut in half and attaching paper condiment cups. It catches the marble off of the track and swings to trigger the next step. It can be made with a condiment cup, ruler, rod, and something to attach it to.

Step 3: Marble Holder Seesaw + Pivot

The pivot from the previous step hits this pivot, which then allows the marble held at one end to roll down it to the other side. We made this the same was as step 2, except instead of a cup at one end it's just a wall to prevent the marble from rolling off the end.

Step 4: Lego Swing

The marble from Step 3 rolls around a track and hits the lego swing, which is barely balanced upright. The marble hits the swing with enough force to unbalance it, and the top heavy swing rotates through to hit the truck. To make it, just make a base of of legos, and then make the swing as well. Attach the swing to a rod that spans the base.

Step 5: Truck Jump

In this step, the truck rolls down a ramp and jumps, and hits a switch to turn on the fan. To make this, we made a hot wheels track out of paperboard by scoring and folding it to make a track.

Step 6: Fan Blows Sailboat

The switch then triggers a fan which we had connected to a surge protector. The fan blows a boat across an area of water. To make this step, you need a fan, something to hold water, water, and a sailboat. For the sailboat we used a soda bottle cut in half as floats, and a piece of cardboard as a deck. The sail is also made of cardboard.

Step 7: Sailboat Knocks Over Dominos

The boat, propelled by the fan, travels across the body of water and knocks over a domino chain reaction. For this step you just need dominoes and a pusher on the sailboat to hit the dominoes. We used popsicle sticks for this.

Step 8: Dominoes Knock Marble

Dominoes fall and hit a marble sending it down a ramp. For this you need a lego piece to hold the marble, and a marble track.

Step 9: Marble Hits Pivot Arm

The marble rolls down a ramp, and hits a pivot arm, which swings around. To make this we used K'nex pieces for the pivot arm.

Step 10: Pivot Arm Knocks Marble Into Cup

The swing arm knocks the marble into a cup, which is attached to the flag. The marble is held by a lego piece.

Step 11: Cup Pulley Raises Flag

The weight of the marble pulls the pulley down, which is attached to the flag. As the pulley moves down, it pulls the flag up. The pulley is made of a condiment cup, yarn, and a pulley wheel, which was a k'nex piece. The flag is attached to a lego and k'nex base.