Rube Goldberg machines are named after the American cartoonist, Rube Goldberg, whose cartoons often depicted complicated machines completing simple tasks. When students are tasked with studying Rube Goldberg machines, they’re engaged in critical thinking about his inventions making simple tasks complicated. As one part of a series of lessons studying simple machines, mechanics, and physics, students make the connection between thought, design, and engineering.
Take a look at how our Engineering II students created a Rube Goldberg machine to launch a simple bottle rocket.
