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#KidsatBL Rube Goldberg Machine

We will be sharing a STEM challenge children can do at home here every Friday. Complete the challenge and share your results on social media with @BramptonLibrary #kidsatBL! 

This week’s challenge: 

Build a Rube Goldberg Machine--or, a machine designed to complete a simple task in a very complex way using a series of chain reactions. 

Supplies you will need:

  • Objects that move (or have “kinetic energy”)
    • Examples: balls, roller skates, skateboards, fidget spinners, mechanical toys, etc.
  • Objects that could have stored energy based on their position (or have “potential energy”)
    • Examples: dominoes, elastic bands
  • Other supplies to control when and how the objects listed above move: cardboard, plastic cups, popsicle sticks, paper, tape, scissors, string

Tips to get started: 

Step One: Choose the task you want your machine to complete

Step Two: Set up your chain reactions

  • Choose whether you want to start at the beginning or with your end goal.
  • Build each step and test it along the way to make sure it will work when you try to put it all together.

Step Three: Try your machine! 

  • Even if you have tested each chain reaction along the way, your Rube Goldberg machine probably will not work on the first try. 
  • Learn from failed attempts to make small adjustments to your machine.

Helpful science terms:

Anytime something is in motion we say that it has kinetic energy.

  • This could be you when you run down the street, a bicycle when it is moving and even the wind or water in the ocean. Kinetic energy also includes anything that has rotation or vibrates.
  • When one object collides with another object, (like a baseball bat hitting a ball, for example) it transfers its kinetic energy to the second object. (The baseball bat transfers its kinetic energy to the ball and the ball then moves in a different direction, containing all of the kinetic energy.)

Potential energy is the stored energy an object has because of its position or state. 

  • A bicycle on top of a hill, a book held over your head, or a stretched rubber band all have potential energy.

If you liked this activity, you might enjoy these free resources from our digital library: 

The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires (fiction picture book/ebook, recommended for 4-8 years)

Science Max: Rube Goldberg Machine (TV episode available on Kanopy, recommended for 4-12 years)

Many Ways to Move: A Look at Motion by Jennifer Boothroyd (non-fiction book/ebook, recommended for 6-8 years)

Resources for grown-ups:

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