Registration for the 2013 Rube Goldberg Competition: Hammer a Nail is FILLED.
What is the Rube Goldberg Competition?
Rube Goldberg machine contests are inspired by Reuben Lucius Goldberg, whose cartoons combined simple household items into complex devices to perform trivial tasks. The machines combine the principles of physics and engineering, using common objects such as marbles, mousetraps, stuffed animals, electric mixers, vacuum cleaners, rubber tubes, bicycle parts and anything else that happens to be on hand.
The Argonne-sponsored Rube Goldberg Machine Contest is held every year in late winter or early spring at Chicago's Navy Pier. Area high schools compete to build a complex machine, comprising over 20 steps, to perform a simple task.
The ultimate goal of the contest is give high school students hands-on engineering experience and to encourage them to make science and engineering part of their future academic and professional careers.
Learn more about Rube Goldberg Competitions by visiting the official website. Or read more articles about the Argonne-sponsored contest. You can also view competition photos.
Past Competitions
2012 Competition -- Inflating and Popping a Balloon!
2011 Competition -- Watering a Plant!
2012 Competition: Inflating and Popping a Balloon
The 2012 event was bursting with excitement. Teams competed to build a complex machine to inflate and pop a balloon in at least twenty steps.
Argonne National Laboratory's 17th annual Rube Goldberg Machine Contest was held on February 17, 2012 at the Chicago Children's Museum on Navy Pier.
The winner was Maine Township High School South #2. Maine beat out a number of teams to win the Championship. Watch video coverage of the 2012 event »
In addition to advancing to the national championship, the winning team received a traveling trophy to display until the 2013 contest. The group also went on a tour of Argonne (featuring the Advanced Photon Source) and had lunch with Argonne scientists, where they had the opportunity to demonstrate their creation.
Argonne’s Division of Communication, Education and Public Affairs sponsored the event in collaboration with the Chicago Children’s Museum and the National Rube Goldberg Machine Contest, held annually at Purdue University. The event is licensed by Rube Goldberg, Inc. Rube Goldberg is a registered trademark and copyright of Rube Goldberg, Inc., which can be reached at (203) 227-0818, by e-mail at Rube@RubeGoldberg.com or via their website. The Chicago Children’s Museum’s mission is to create a community where play and learning connect. For more information about the Chicago Children’s Museum, call (312) 527-1000 or visit their website.
Final Standings
1st Place: Maine Township High School South #2
2nd Place: Maine Township High School South #1
3rd Place Chicago Christian High School
People's Choice Trophy: Chicago Christian High School
How to Register
Registration for the 2013 Competition is FILLED.
If your high school is interested in entering the Rube Goldberg Competition next year, please look for more information on this webpage in the Fall.
Contact Information
For questions about the Rube Goldberg Competition contact
Emily Mancini
Email: emancini@anl.gov
Phone: (630) 252-3380
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