Goldburger To Go: Rube Goldberg Machines

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What it is: I am always finding fun activities on PBS kids site, today I ran across Goldburger to Go!  Rube Goldberg designed machines that made simple, every day, tasks into complicated activities with the help of his contraptions (think Wallace and Gromit).  The students task is to design a machine that will help serve lunch.  The machine isn’t working properly and students must discover which pieces of the machine need a little tweaking.  As students complete the machine, they can test it out and get hints and clues about could be keeping the machine from working.  

How to integrate Goldberger To Go: Rube Goldberg Machines into the classroom: Students are fascinated with machines that work together to perform tasks.  Goldburger to Go is a fun way to challenge your students to think about cause and effect and to consider how all the working parts operate together.  The puzzle game is a good way to get your students thinking about and discussing different types of energy.  Use this website with the whole class using an interactive whiteboard and discuss the types of energy as they occur.  Walk your students through the scientific process as they hypothesize what is going to happen and experiment with adjusting the machine accordingly.  The website also lends itself nicely to studying different kinds of simple machines.  The built in hints help guide stumped students in their thinking.  Goldburger to Go would make a fun center activity or even to play individually in a computer lab setting.  This is one of those thinking games that my students could spend hours playing.

Tips: Students can create and build their own real-life Goldberg machines with fun activities and suggestions found here.

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Goldburger to Go: Rube Goldberg Machines in your classroom.