Build a Rube Goldberg Machine to deliver a chocolate egg made out of materials you can find around your home.
Rube Golderberg machines are like knock on effect machines. They are intentionally designed to perform a simple task in an overly complicated way. There’s all kinds of physics going on. Think about all the different ways you can make something move. Things can fall, or roll or swing or bump in to each other and pass on their momentum. What forces might be in action like gravity or friction?
Here are our top tips:
- Test often! Build a small piece, test it works, then add on.
- If you don’t know where to start, perhaps pick your ending instead.
- Stay calm and keep trying. If something doesn’t work, ask why and adjust it, engineers do this all the time. This will not work many times before it works, but when it finally does it’s the best!
Share a short film or picture of what you came up with on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram @scienceoxford #scienceoxfordchallenge #sciencefromhome or email [email protected]
Online inspiration
Rube Goldberg Inc. Soap Challenge competition April 2020
Time.com Rube Goldberg with cats March 2020:
https://time.com/5806556/cats-rube-goldberg/
Honda car advert https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ve4M4UsJQo
OK Go music video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qybUFnY7Y8w