The Rube Goldberg Devices competition challenges you to do any overly engineered or wacky automation project!
The idea is to come up with an automation device similar to a Rube Goldberg machine. A Rube Goldberg machine is a complex contraption in which a series of devices perform simple tasks and are linked together to produce a domino effect whereby activation of one device triggers the next device in the sequence. The inventor was a famous an American cartoonist.
Rube Goldberg, born on the 4th of July in 1883, certainly had the whole right brain / left thing working for him. Not only was he a Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist known for his wacky cartoons but he also received an engineering degree from Berkley. He has the distinction of being the only person listed in the Merriam Webster Dictionary as an adjective and its been estimated that he did 50,000 cartoons over the course of his lifetime.
His legacy lives on, not only through TV and movies, but through Rube Goldberg Inc, a not for profit 501(c)3 dedicated to promoting STEM & STEAM education for students of all ages. The engineering fraternity at Purdue University has hosted a National Rube Goldberg Machine Contest every year since 1987 . In 2009, the same chapter established a similar contest at Berkeley University, where Goldberg got his degree.
Submit Your Projects Here:
Fun Facts about Rube Goldberg:
- Rube Goldberg has a Degree in Engineering from Berkley - Rube Goldberg revealed that he got his degree in engineering because his "father thought that all cartoonists were, you know, good-for-nothing, Bohemians, and couldn't make a living drawing pictures.
- He Quit his Engineering Job After 6 months - It took him 6 months to discover engineering wasn't right for him. He became a sports cartoonist for the San Francisco Chronicle before moving to New York City to be a cartoonist for The New York Evening Mail. One of his comics was called "Lala Palooza" which bears a striking resemblance to Lollapalooza the yearly music festival here in Chicago. (It was a touring music festival featuring the likes of Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Ministry, and Red Hot Chili Peppers when I was in high school.)
- Rube Goldberg was making a salary equivalent to a million dollars by 1916 - According to a short profile published in 1963 he was making a salary of $50,000 for his cartoons which is the equivalent of 1 million dollars today.
- He Won a Pulitzer Prize for a political cartoon called "Peace Today" - He won the 1948 Pulitzer Prize for cartoon where he made a statement about the precarious balance between world control and destruction due to the atomic bomb. In a separate cartoon he critiqued FDR's strategy to fix the government by creating multiple agencies...
- Only Last Name Used as an Adjective in the Dictionary - In 1931, the term Goldberg was added to the Merriam-Webster dictionary as an adjective meaning to do "something simple in a very complicated way that is not necessary."
- Became a Sculptor at 80 - He viewed this as an extenuation of his work in engineering and cartooning. He put on shows in New York and California and even got paid for his work.
- The Reuben Award for Best Cartoonist is Named after him - Since 1954 the National Cartoonists Society has handed out awards to the Top Cartoonist in his honor. It took Rube Goldberg 22 years to win the award that bares his name.
- He Got his Own Stamp in the 90s - In 1995 a US Stamp of man using a self operating napkin was made in his honor by the United States Postal Service.
- Rube Goldberg Machine Contests began at Purdue - The contests originated at Purdue in 1949, as a competition between the Theta Tau and Triangle fraternities, and was held every year until 1956. In 1983, it was revived by the Phi Chapter of Theta Tau and opened up to the entire university. It became a national contest in 1989 and contest winners have been featured on Johnny Carson, the Today Show, and Good Morning America.
Your Chance to Win
| Be Original |
Stick to the Theme |
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| List the Steps |
Submit Video Proof |
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Your Project Examples
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Your Prizes
| One Grand Prize Winner Wins a $200 Shopping Bundle | Three First Place Winners Win a $100 Shopping Cart |
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Some Terms & Conditions Apply: How to Redeem Your Shopping Cart for Project14
Your Project, Your Ideas!
| About Project14 |
Directions |
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Every month you'll have a new poll where you'll get to decide an upcoming project competition, based on your interests, that will take place a couple of months in advance. Themes are broad in scope so that everyone can participate regardless of skill set.
What are Monthly Themes?
What are Monthly Theme Polls?
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Step 1: Log in or register on element14, it's easy and free. Step 2: Post in the comments section below to begin a discussion on your idea. Videos, pictures and text are all welcomed forms of submission. Step 3: Submit a blog post of your progress on your project by the end of the month. You are free to submit as many blog entries as you like until the beginning of the next theme.
Be sure to include video proof of your project!
Visit: Rube Goldberg Device or tag your project blog rubegoldbergch
You have until August 17th End of Day to submit your completed project!
A jury consisting of your peers will judge project submissions! |
