How Do You Build A Rube Goldberg Machine?
As Professor Louis Gorgonzola Butts, engineer/artist Rube Goldberg created many fictitious machines noted for a large number of complicated components and steps to perform simple tasks. In his honor, competitions have sprung up to create real-life Rube Goldberg inventions. Here’s how to build your own Rube Goldberg machine. Step 1 Determine what simple task for which you wish to build a Rube Goldberg machine. If you are entering the official Rube Goldberg machine competition, this task will be listed on the official Rube Goldberg website (see Resources), along with the minimum number of steps the machine must execute. Step 2 Study other Rube Goldberg machines, either those from Rube Goldberg’s cartoons or actual contest inventions for inspiration and ideas. Step 3 Analyze the steps involved in the actual procedure. Determine which steps can be broken down into smaller steps and how far. Step 4 Design methods to handle each step in the process and devices to implement these methods. If
