The Amazing Rube Goldberg!

Have a go at drawing some of your own Rube Goldberg type machines.
To give you an idea of what they look like, look at Rube Goldberg sites on the internet.

Some suggestions for your drawings are:

• Prepare and mix a milkshake
• Clean and dry a saucepan
• Put toothpaste on a toothbrush and brush teeth
• Take off, then put on the lid of a jar
• Toast a sclice of bread
• Turn on your computer
• Screw a light bulb into a socket
• Make a cup of tea
• Turn on a radio
• Put coins in a piggy bank
• Insert, and then play a CD
• Sharpen a pencil
• Pick, wash and Peel an Apple
• Put a letter in an envelope, seal, stick on a stamp
• Crush a soft drink can
• Close a toilet lid, then flush
• Shear a sheep
• Pour a glass of drink
• Turn off an alarm clock
• Pick a tomato
• Water a pot plant
• Mow the lawn
• Feed a cat

Come up with your own ideas.

Once you have done some drawing, try a real challenge!

Make a Rube Goldberg contraption that actually works!

You could try one of the drawings you made, or a completely different one… your drawings may not be very practical in reality.

Check with your parent first, to see what you can use.
Adult help and supervision recommended.

No dangerous items are allowed, such as plug in electricity, sharp knives, flames larger than a candle, explosives, pressured canisters.

You should draw a plan of your machine first and carefully think through the steps to see if you think it will work.

You may need adult help to get things right and do any work that requires cutting or electric tools etc.

Build your machine and try it!

You may find it easier to build it in stages and get each section working before joining the whole thing together.

As you build you will probably need to rethink your design, and modify it where necessary.

Record what happens, changes etc… your design progression.

When you have it finally working to your satisfaction, draw a diagram of the completed machine.

Take photos of your machine and create a display of the whole project.