Rube Goldberg Machine

What is a Rube Goldberg Machine

A Rube Goldberg machine, named after American cartoonist Rube Goldberg, is a machine intentionally designed to perform a simple task in an indirect and overly complicated way.

Here is an example of a Rube Goldberg machine. This is a project you can do by yourself or with your family. You can use just about anything to create your machine.

Some good material choices are:

• • LEGO Bricks – you can make things to knock down or build contraptions

  • paper tubes

  • funnels – use several for best effect

  • piping (clear is a great choice so you can see the ball go through!)

  • pvc elbows – for turns in tubing or to use to catapult a ball out of

  • tubing – flexible tube is a good idea for having liquid, marbles or other objects go through

  • pulleys – get a few of these and have elements of your machine drop onto other things

  • dominos – perfect for a long chain. These are used quite often.

  • Roles of tape

  • marbles and other small balls are perfect for knocking things over or rolling along a track.

  • string or twine – for tying things together and for swinging things into something else. I really love this twine by OXO. It comes with a holder and cutter and is a bargain for what you get.

  • gears! You are more than likely going to want to add some gears to your machine. They are super useful, plus they look cool.

  • cardboard – so many uses! Use if for everything.

  • paperclips and binder clips – great for holding things together

  • pipe cleaners or chenille stems << best deal – hold things together, make things out of them or use them to drop onto another item.

  • bottles – plastic bottles of all sizes for dropping, rolling and even cutting apart

  • boxes (cereal, other)

  • cans – good for rolling or attaching a string to and swinging into something else.

  • cups – same purposes as cans and also for using liquids or for stacking a high pyramid to knock over (impressive!)

  • straws and jumbo straws – various uses, these make a colorful addition to your machine.

  • books – great for stacking either to make a tower to set other things on or domino style for knocking over.

  • balls (ping pong, tennis, golf, other) – perfect for any type of rolling through tubes, knocking things over or bouncing onto a target.

  • shoelaces – for tying things together or swinging things into something else

  • Hot Wheels or Matchbox cars – for rolling along a track into another object or rolling into another object on a slanted surface.

  • hot wheel track has many uses.

  • game pieces (Mousetrap is great for this) – Game pieces are colorful and great for so many things.

  • rubber bands – for holding tubes together, and you can also set them to shoot into something else.

  • wooden train track – use the same way as Hot Wheels and Hot Wheels track

  • wooden trains – you can try a motorized train such as this to run into something

  • craft or “popsicle’ sticks – try making a craft stick bomb like this one.

  • clothespins – great for holding things together. I like the mini clips the best.

  • thread spools – good for rolling into something or for tying and swinging

  • aluminum foil – ideal for creating any bits you need really. It can be shaped and wrapped around things to make them work better

  • wax paper – we have used this to rub against something when we couldn’t quite get it together.

  • wooden blocks – build and topple or hold things up. You can also stack in a pyramid or gradations

  • Tinkertoys – so many useful pieces!

  • pull back toys – we like to use these to start off machines.

  • Slinky! – of course you have to include a slinky in one of your machines! For fun it’s a wonderful toy

  • walking wind-up toys – these are another great way to get things started. Try this retro robot or this old-school walker.

  • woodpecker toy is a classic and is great for getting something going. 1st have something bump into it to get it started, then have it trigger another reaction

  • motorized toys (think Zuzu Pets) – for starting or ending