What is our theme?
A Rube Goldberg machine is a deliberately over-engineered or overdone machine that performs a very simple task in very complex fashion. Rube Goldberg was an inventor and cartoonist. Our ¨Complex, fashionable finish,¨ was a baseball being knocked into a glove.
Our project took a couple weeks to finish. Our theme was baseball themed. Our board included many different mechanical components and simple machines such as the pulley, wedge, lever, inclined plane and the wheel and axle. We did not base the components and machines of our board on our theme. We did paint the background blue to show a bright day at the ballpark. The calculations of our Rube Goldberg is in our at the top of the page. All of the info is on our slideshow actually.
I was happy with our final product of our Rube Goldberg machine. I feel our team worked very well together considering the facts that this was our first STEM project for any of us and we go to work straight away!
Reflection
For the final product I was proud of my group for the hard work we put in had paid off. I learned how to use a power tool. At the beginning of the project I was not doing much physical work because I did not know how to use any power tools. As the project went on I learned how to use a drill which I now think is a great skill to have and possess. It also enabled me to do more work and physically contribute to the team! The second thing I learned on the project was about simple machines and calculations and how to make them. These are both very important skills to have and use to your advantage in life and maybe your career. Two things I could have done better was be more assertive in the group and also be more aggressive to learn how to use a power drill. I think once I became more aggressive I began to help the group a lot more. Overall, this project was a I would consider, a success!