Goodyear’s STEM Career Day: Rube Goldberg Challenge® 2017
Middle School Grant Competition
Official Rules
Goodyear challenges you and your classmates to design a clever Rube Goldberg Machine™, utilizing
Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) principles, to Check the Tread Depth on a
Tire!
Students may participate as part of a School Group for a chance to showcase creativity and STEM
skills to win great prizes, including significant grant money for your school.
Participants apply by creating a machine according to the Challenge below, and sending an
application essay and video of your machine in action to Goodyear by March 17, 2017. A
panel of Goodyear scientists and engineers will select the winners according to scoring criteria.
Winners will be announced at Goodyear’s STEM Career Day on May 6, 2017 and must be present to
claim their prize. The top school groups may be invited to showcase their Rube Goldberg Machine™ at
the Goodyear STEM Career Day event.
Who Can Participate and What’s in it for YOU and YOUR SCHOOL!
Any interested group(s) of students in grades six through eight who plans to attend Goodyear’s STEM
Career Day on May 6, 2017 may participate in the Rube Goldberg Challenge ®. Please note that winners
will not be notified before the event and must be present at the event to claim their prize.
First, determine your school's level of participation given the following rules:
Team Guidelines
• Middle School Bracket: Students in grades 6-8
• Teams must be 4-12 students.
• Schools can enter multiple teams.
• Only ONE TEAM from each school may win grant allocations.
• A school cannot win grant money for consecutive years.
However, these teams may still win optional prizes.
Second, get excited about the prizes!
1st Place
2nd Place
1
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$2500 school grant
Visit Goodyear Headquarters &
Innovation Center
Honorable mention prizes
-
$2000 school grant
Honorable mention prizes
Goodyear’s STEM Career Day: Rube Goldberg Challenge® 2017
3rd Place
Honorable
Mentions
(4th - 6th
Place)
$1000 school grant
Honorable mention prizes
Accumulated optional machine task points
(up to 750 prize points) can be spent on
prizes as individuals or as a group for your
school
Prize List for Winners
The top 6 middle school group teams will have the opportunity to spend the points collected by your
Rube Goldberg Machine™ completing a selection of optional tasks (described in The Challenge below).
Each team has the potential to spend a maximum of 750 task points. The number of task points
becomes the number of prize points available for your group. All points earned will count towards your
final score, but a maximum of 750 may be spent on prizes if you are in the top 6 schools. You can decide
to pool your prize points and get a big prize for your class or school, or you can split them up between
each team member for individual prizes.
Prize
Lego Mind-storm EV3
Chromebook/Netbook
Aven 26700-209 Mighty
Scope Digital Handheld
Microscope, 10x-200x
Magnification, Upper WhiteLED Illumination, With
Stand, Includes 5MP Camera
Polaroid ZIP Mobile Printer
& Paper
TI-84 Calculator
Circuit Scribe Ultimate Kit
Stirling Engine Display
Eton BoostTurboine
2000mAh
Description
An introduction to Robots and robotic logic for your
classroom and to compete in Robotics leagues
Standard Chromebook/Netbook for your classroom
High Powered mobile microscope with ability to take
pictures.
Prints directly from your mobile phone or tablet via
Bluetooth
Common usage in AP Calculus AB, also used
throughout college
Everything you need to create dynamic and fun paper
circuits!
A Stirling engine is a heat engine that operates by
cyclic compression and expansion of air or other gas at
different temperatures, such that there is a net
conversion of heat energy to mechanical work. Neat
gadget for class demonstrations or for your desk.
A hand turbine powered emergency cell phone
charger. 1 minute of cranking will generate enough
power for a 30 second call or a few critical texts.
Amazon Kindle
Makey Makey Board
2
Trick your computer into thinking that anything is a
keyboard! Play the piano with bananas!
Point Value
625
525
375
250
150
150
150
125
125
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Goodyear’s STEM Career Day: Rube Goldberg Challenge® 2017
Binary Clock
4” Levitating Desktop Globe
Raspberry Pi
AERIUS: New World’s
Smallest Quadcopter
Math themed clock
Keychain Charger for Apple
Devices
Diamagnetic graphite
levitation kit
Annual subscription to
Discover Magazine
Modern design digital clock; uses base 2 binary to tell
time
Magnets are awesome
The Raspberry Pi is a credit-card sized computer that
plugs into your TV and a keyboard. It is a capable little
computer which can be used in electronics
projects, and for many of the things that your
desktop PC does, like spreadsheets, wordprocessing and games. It also plays highdefinition video. Useful tool for learning basic
computer science.
Measuring 3cm by 3cm by 2cm, it is about the size of
your fingertip, and with it’s tiny propellers it can
manage 5-7 minutes of flight time per 15 minutes of
changing.
Equations instead of numbers
Three inch Lightning to USB cable for Apple devices
Again, magnets are awesome. This one is a puzzle, a
specific arrangement of the pieces allows the plate to
levitate
Can select multi-year subscription
Annual subscription to
Popular Science Magazine
Can select multi-year subscription
Pocket Microscope
Analog microscope you can take anywhere!
400mL Beaker Mug
75
75
65
50
40
40
40
40 per
year
25 per
year
25
20
We hope you agree that these incentives are awesome. Now that we have you hooked, let’s get to The
Challenge!
The Challenge:
Rube Goldberg was an engineer by training who was known for his cartoons depicting outrageous
engineering efforts to complete a simple task. We want you to be zany and outrageous while applying
STEM principles to create your own themed Rube Goldberg Machine™.
The following criteria are Requirements for entry.
The Final Task of your Rube Goldberg Machine™ is to check the tread depth of a tire!
This is meant to be fun and educational, not dangerous and hazardous. Participants are expected to be
safe and exercise common sense. If in doubt, consult your teacher or leave it out.
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Goodyear’s STEM Career Day: Rube Goldberg Challenge® 2017
Criteria
Completed
Application Entry
Form
School Group Req’t
(Attachment 1)
Video Submission of
Machine in Operation
Machine Dimensions
Repeatability
Number of
Intermediate steps
prior to Final Task
Machine Run-Time
Duration
Description
Machine Name & Description,
Team Introduction, Safety
Pledge, Application Questions &
Essay, Task Sequence List, SelfScoring. Incomplete entry forms
will be disqualified.
Must be continuous filming, showing the full operation of the machine. See
“Additional Rules” section below for more information.
10’ x 10’ x 8 ‘
Must also be able to fit through
a standard entry way – modular
design is encouraged.
Yes
Must be repeatable
Min 12
See Points & Penalties section
below for more details
Min 30 seconds
before initiation of
final task
Max 300 seconds
before initiation of
final task
See Points & Penalties section
below for more details
Scoring - Points & Penalties:
Points are accumulated or deducted based on achieving the items and tasks below. You do NOT need to
complete each item or task: winners are selected by totaling all below item/task-related points,
creativity points, and application essays. There are a total of 1,800 possible points not including the
optional task points. The top 6 middle school group teams selected will become eligible to spend their
Optional Task Points they collected on group or individual prizes (a maximum of 750 points may be
spent on prizes, however as many optional points as earned will be included in the scoring).
Scoring Criteria: Required Elements & Optional Tasks
Task
Submission Date
Points
No additional
points
Penalty
-250 points from
project total (does
not affect optional
point total)
Cohesive theme
Description
Projects are due March 17, 2017. Late
penalty will apply for any projects
submitted after March 17, 2017 and
before March 20, 2017. Projects will not
be accepted after 12:01AM, March 21,
2017.
A consistent theme for your machine
100
Continuous handsoff operation
Once the machine starts, no touching or
outside influence if it stalls
100
Zero points for not
having a cohesive
theme
0 points for one
touch, -20 per
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Goodyear’s STEM Career Day: Rube Goldberg Challenge® 2017
Optional Task
Completion
Final task
completion
Design
Cinematography
Application &
Essay
Attendance at
Goodyear STEM
Career Day on May
6, 2017
Mobile
See table below; Any combination of any
number of optional tasks can be
completed (all optional tasks completed
must be claimed in the application)
Check tread depth of a tire
Unlimited
(Only 750 may
be used for
prizes)
300
Goodyear panel judging
Goodyear panel judging
Goodyear panel judging
Up to 500
Up to 100
Up to 350
Participating school groups will be
awarded points according to the
percentage resulting from number of
students in the Rube Goldberg team
who registered vs. number who attend
the event. (i.e. 10 students registered, 5
attend, team gets 125 points)
Your machine fits into an 10’x10’x8’;
send in a dimensioned drawing to prove
your claim
Up to 250
100
additional
occurrence
None
Zero points for not
completing the
final task
Claimed, but not
accurate: -100
Subjective Grading Rubric:
DESIGN
Technical Rigor
Entertainment
Complexity
WOW Factor
500 Points
40%
30%
20%
10%
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Explanation of machine
Clarity of machine elements (all steps are visible & trackable)
Video Quality (steady and focused)
100 Points
20%
30%
50%
APPLICATION
Financial Plan
Essay
Clarity of optional point claims
Machine Diagram
350 Points
40%
35%
15%
10%
Optional Tasks:
Within your application, your team should “claim” all optional tasks you think you have earned. Include
where in your video the graders can find the occurrence and how the step/event/item achieves the
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Goodyear’s STEM Career Day: Rube Goldberg Challenge® 2017
desired goal. While you will only be able to spend a maximum of 750 points if you are in the top 6
schools, all your optional points earned will count towards your final score! Any optional tasks not
claimed by the group will not be considered for grading.
Item/Task
Description
Points
Penalty
Lift a mass
+30
Use a spring
+30
Use a magnet
+30
Use gravity
+30
Use of simple machines
Wikipedia
+20 each; max 80
points
Pour a liquid
+30
Incorporate your school mascot
+50
Use a single component in at
Component must be
+100
least two unique steps
used in a unique action
in each step
Phase change
e.g. melt wax
+50
Conveyor belt
+50
Use materials that are used in
Part of your optional
+30 each unique
tires
task description should
occurrence; max 90
say where in the tire the points
material is used and for
what purpose
Remote start of your machine
e.g. text message,
+100
phone call, timer
Use a projectile
Create an equation for a +30 for projectile
projectile and
+70 additional if you
demonstrate it within
include an accurate
your machine
trajectory equation
Include some programming or
Include your
+50 for robotics
robotics
programming; mind+100 for including
storm blocks and “off
team-generated code
the shelf” programming
chunks do not count
Include additional Goodyear
+50 points per
branding
unique occurrence,
(max 200 points)
Your machine uses no standard
(off the shelf batteries,
+50
form of electricity
capacitors, grid
power/wall plugs)
Use some alternate source of
(potential energy >
+150 per unique
electricity that you generate
electrical energy,
occurrence (max 300
inside your machine
chemical energy >
points)
electrical energy; NO
GASOLINE)
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Goodyear’s STEM Career Day: Rube Goldberg Challenge® 2017
Fly the blimp as a step in your
machine
Start your machine with a free
standing gauge
Sound a unique alarm for
different tread depths
Blimp may be guided
+100
The gauge cannot touch
the tire before taking
the measurement
Alarms for low tread
depth, medium tread
depth, and new
+300
+500
Actions/Components not allowed under any circumstances:
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Fire
Combustion
Oxidation
Hazardous materials
Radioactive materials
Anything over 25V (AC), 60V (DC); appliances using standard, unmodified plugs are allowed
Lead objects including lead acid batteries
Uncontrolled projectiles
Live animals
How to Apply:
Once you/your team has designed, tested and built your Rube Goldberg Machine™, document your
design and machine steps/tasks in your application form and video tape your machine in operation.
Video submissions and application forms are due March 17, 2017 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.
Electronic Submissions (Strongly Preferred):
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Application form must be saved as word documents (.doc or .docx) or .pdf files and submitted
via email to [email protected] with “Rube Goldberg Competition Entry” as the
subject of the email.
Video submissions are preferred to be submitted using an unlisted YouTube video. Note the URL
and include it in the application form.
Hard Copy Submissions (only if absolutely necessary please):
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Hard copy application forms and DVD/CD Entries can also be submitted by mail. The deadline is
March 17, 2017 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. Entries postmarked after this time will not
be eligible for this contest. It is recommended that entries are submitted 1-2 weeks prior to the
submission deadline to allow participants to correct any issues with file formats, faulty media, or
shipping damage. DVD/CD submissions become the property of Goodyear and cannot be
returned. Mail to:
Goodyear STEM Career Day Rube Goldberg Challenge ®
Attn: Amanda McGee
200 Innovation Way
7
Goodyear’s STEM Career Day: Rube Goldberg Challenge® 2017
Akron OH, 44316
Additional Rules
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Entries will be judged by a panel of representatives from Goodyear, and winners selected based
on details in the Scoring Criteria section above. Goodyear judges will assign all point values for
each category of machine required & optional task points, creativity, application & essay, and
attendance.
Winners will be announced during the closing ceremony at Goodyear STEM Career Day on May
6, 2017. Winners must be present at the event to win. A Goodyear representative will contact
each winner following the event for more instructions to claim prizes.
In the event of a tie, the longest machine run duration will be used as a tie breaker.
The video and application form gives you / your team an opportunity to showcase how you
arrived at your final design. The video can include discussions, demonstrations, competing
theories, even prototypes and/or sketches that were initially considered before the final design
selection.
The video or application form should show how different team members contributed to your
project. All team members must play some role in the creation of the Rube Goldberg Machine™,
but not all members must appear on the video. Video credits must list team member roles, such
as writing, editing, camera, audio, performance, music, etc.
For school group entrants, it is recommended that a minimum of 50% of team members be
female if competing school is co-educational (i.e., enrolls male and female students).
The videos must not exceed 10 minutes in length. Videos on DVD/CD must be in a format that
can be played on Windows Media Player or QuickTime (.wmv, .avi, .mov, or .mpg file formats).
Video must not exceed 2 GB in size. Any video that does not meet these requirements will be
disqualified from this contest.
Ensure that you provide the unique video title and valid video YouTube URL, if applicable. Email
submissions to [email protected] must also include:
 Team contact name and email address (must be for someone older than 13) in case any
issues/questions arise
 List of team members involved in creating the Rube Goldberg Machine™ and video.
 Please include this printed wording in the submission:
o “The team acknowledges that submitting the application form and video means
that we consent to the Goodyear STEM Career Day rules."
Your Rube Goldberg Machine™ and video must not infringe on any third party rights or contain
any names, logos, or seals of any government agency, company, or organization other than
Goodyear and Rube Goldberg, Inc.
Rube Goldberg machines or videos previously produced for compensation and/or copyrighted
materials are not eligible and will be disqualified from this contest.
In order to be awarded the grant monies and/or prizes, the winning contestants must provide
the required consent and release forms to Goodyear at the event on May 6, 2017 for all onscreen team members available via the Goodyear STEM Career Day website.
Winners can expect to be notified at the STEM Career day event on May 6, 2017.
By submitting a video to this contest, you grant to Goodyear an irrevocable, royalty-free license
to copy, distribute, modify, display and perform publicly, and otherwise use, as well as authorize
others to use, your video for any educational or promotional purpose and in any media format.
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Goodyear’s STEM Career Day: Rube Goldberg Challenge® 2017
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Goodyear is the sponsor of this contest. Goodyear reserves the right to make your video
available to the general public from their Web sites and to distribute it to any other
organizations interested in showing it for any educational purposes, including, but not limited
to, on Internet sites, at conferences and events, on television, and other media outlets.
The depiction of violence, profanity, or sex, or the inclusion of attacks on individuals or
organizations, otherwise offensive material, or any other violation of the contest rules will result
in disqualification from this contest.
Submission videos that contain dangerous stunts or reckless tire/vehicle operation will not be
eligible for grant or prize consideration.
The contest is void where prohibited or restricted by law. No purchase or payment of money is
necessary to enter or win.
Entrants must agree to the above terms and conditions.
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