Curated OER
Simply Machines
In this machines activity, students draw a "Rube Goldberg" style machine which uses 3 different types of simple machines to complete one task.
Curated OER
Physics Internet Scavenger Hunt
In this physics worksheet, students visit the site http://sciencespot.net and complete a scavenger hunt for a variety of physics topics.
Curated OER
Air Movers
Young scholars learn about Rube Goldberg machines (complicated devices designed to accomplish simple tasks and then design and build a machine that uses more than six separate steps to move an empty aluminum can. They can either work...
Curated OER
Humor, Philosophy, and Religion
Philosophy and religion are the topics of this presentation, though humor is what ties them together. Providing many examples of humor in different religions (Evangelism, Buddhism, Mormonism) and from different philosophers (Plato,...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Simple Machines
Through a five-lesson series with five hands-on activities, students are introduced to six simple machines - inclined plane, wedge, screw, lever, pulley, wheel-and-axle - as well as compound machines, which are combinations of two or...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Design and Build a Rube Goldberg
In this two-part activity, students design and build a Rube Goldberg machine. The open ended problem uses the engineering design process and can have a preset purpose, such as rolling a marble into a cup from a distance, or can be left...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Rube Goldberg and the Meaning of Machines
Simple and compound machines are designed to make work easier. When we encounter a machine that does not fit this understanding, the so-called machine seems absurd. In this lesson plan, the cartoons of Rube Goldberg are introduced and...
Other
Rube Goldberg
Get a look into the life of the wacky machine inventor Rube Goldberg. Includes a terrific biography, a gallery of his cartoon inventions, and a link to The Rube Goldberg Machine Contest.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Splash, Pop, Fizz: Rube Goldberg Machines
Refreshed with an understanding of the six simple machines; screw, wedge, pully, incline plane, wheel and axle, and lever, student groups receive materials and an allotted amount of time to act as mechanical engineers to design and...
Alabama Learning Exchange
Alex: How to Make Something Simple, Hard
Middle schoolers will have completed a unit of forces and motion prior to the current unit of study on simple machines (lever, inclined plane, screw, wedge, pulley, wheel and axle). Students will review the functions and examples of...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Design Your Own Rube Goldberg Machine
Rube Goldberg is famous for his very complex machines that accomplish everyday tasks. Students will design and build a Rube Goldberg machine that will accomplish a simple task in no less than ten steps.
PBS
Pbs Teachers: Goldburger to Go
Apply principles of physics as you add parts to an unfinished Rube Goldberg design in this interactive game. Examine clues and make adjustments to complete a food delivery machine.
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Construction of a Complex Machine Through Classroom Collaboration
Students take a simple task and make it much more complicated using a cardboard box. Each group must use a minimum of six simple machines utilizing at least four types of simple machines. The goal is to keep the initial impulse moving...
PBS
Pbs Teachers: Games Machines Play: Rube Goldberg Challenge
Explore the cartoons of Rube Goldberg and design a complex machine to perform a simple task. Use scientific design elements and information about energy transfer to build a model of the machine.
Science Struck
Science Struck: 4 Complex Rube Goldberg Ideas
An interesting approach to science projects where students are challenged to create complex machines that do very simple jobs, e.g., opening a door. Offers four ideas for projects.
PBS
Pbs Teachers: Rube Goldberg Invention Ii
Explore motion, force and energy by building a complicated contraption to pour milk into a glass.