Rube Goldberg n. a comically involved, complicated invention, laboriously contrived to perform a simple operation. –Websters new world dictionary

Robby Beckett, a senior at Community High School, describes Rube Goldberg machines as “Series of over complicated steps to achieve a simple goal… Basically the opposite of an engineers job.”

The definitions are not quite the same, but Beckett and other CHS seniors in physics class have the basic idea. They spent two and a half weeks working on their own Rube Goldberg Machines.

The students split into groups of four and started the project by watching other machines. They then picked a simple task like popping a balloon or lighting a match. Beckett’s group chose to light a candle. Next, students used toy cars, Legos, dominoes, and anything else they could find to construct their machines.

Testing the machines was the hard part. “It was frustrating for a long time,” Beckett said “Every single part has to work otherwise it just falls apart.”

At the end of the two and a half weeks, the groups either succeeded or had to move on.

This project was the physics students final project until their end of the year trip to Cedar Point, where they will study the physics behind roller coasters.