I love a good challenge, and the Rube Goldberg Machine Contest represents one of the best middle/high school challenges that I have come across to date. While I do not have a class or group of student compete in the official contest, we do build Rube Goldberg Machines in my Industrial Technology 8 class.
One of the best techniques that I have used to motivate my students as they embark on their design and construction of their own Rube Goldberg Machines is to show them videos of professional created Rube Goldberg Machines. This not only shows them some exemplary examples of their task at hand, but also demonstrates that adults can enjoy making them, and even make a living doing so.
This Too Shall Pass
The first video I show is the official music video "This Too Shall Pass" from the Band Ok Go. This band is know for their wonderfully coordinated and orchestrated music videos. Not only is the video spectacular, but I really like the song as well.
Honda Cog
The second video that I show was created as a commercial for the Honda Accord in Europe. The creators of this video took parts from the Honda Accord and created the Rube Goldberg with them. I will admit that the first time that I saw this video, I swore that it was fake. After further views, and watching the "Making of" video, it became one of my favorites and on my Rube Goldberg Playlist.
I hope that these two examples can be beneficial to you and your classroom. If you have an example of a great Rube Goldberg Video, please post it in the comments and I will update this post if it is worthy.
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