Build a Stored Energy Machine - Rube Goldberg style

Energy is defined as the ability to do work, to make things happen, to move things and to cause changes. A Rube Goldberg machine, named after American cartoonist Rube Goldberg, is a chain reaction–type machine designed to perform a simple task in an extremely complicated way. The challenge for our machine will perform a simple energy conservation action...like turning off a light switch in your room at a set time every day.

Materials

• Recyclable materials

• We suggest cardboard, plastic containers, paper towel tubes, etc.

• Items that roll or fall - balls, marbles, dominos, skateboard, toy cars, blocks

• Items for ramps or runways - books, pvc pipe, car tracks, funnels

• Tape

• Paper

• String

• Elastics

• Scissors

• Pencil and paper

• Popsicle sticks

• Anything else you can think of

Phase 1:

Decide what your machine will do. Use your imagination. For example you could have it pop a balloon, ring a bell or turning a light switch on.

Phase 2:

Then do some research. Search Rube Goldberg machines to get a few ideas and begin experimenting with a few of your materials to get an idea for how they will work with each other. Design a simple, but to-scale blueprint for your machine. Try to include the materials that will be used and predict the distance each material will be spaced apart. This will make the building go faster and help you to decide if you need any further materials.

Phase 3:

Begin building! As you put your machine together, test each section as you go. Take measurements and compare them to your original blueprints. Be open to change and adaptation.

Phase 4:

Set off the entire machine and watch it work! Once you have finished the building phase it is time to test it out. If you are successful on your first run, congratulations. If not, go back to the drawing board and work your way through the problem areas. Patience will go a long way.

Precision, patience, and determination will play a role in your ultimate success. Imagination, time, and materials are the things stopping you from achieving 

Phase 5:

Level it up. If you were successful with your first build and able to pop a balloon or rign a bell, try creating something that could turn off the lights for you from bed, or sut the door or turn down the heat. There are so many options.

Phase 6:

What types of energy are we using for this?

There are many concepts at play to make a successful Rube Goldberg Machine; potential energy, kinetic energy, mechanical advantage, work, forces, acceleration, momentum, and more – all have an important role. Although the main physics principle driving the action is the conservation of energy. It allows the builder to create a machine with stacks of stored potential energy waiting to be converted into other forms.

Examples: 

Rube Goldberg Machine - Makerspace Project

Simple

Rube Goldberg Ideas: Ring a bell

Rube Goldberg Ideas: Turn off a light

Medium 

Rube Goldberg Ideas: Completing Chores

Complex

Rube Goldberg Machine Contest Champions

Rube Goldberg Ideas: Ice Cream Machine

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