4-H ENGINEERING DESIGN CHALLENGE 2017
Rube Goldberg
Raise a 4-H flag, and then
wave it.
A STEM PROJECT FOR YOUTH WHO HAVE COMPLETED THIRD THROUGH EIGHTH GRADES
THIS YEAR’S CHALLENGE
The 4-H Engineering Design Challenge for 2017 is to design and build a Rube Goldberg
contraption (RG) that raises a 4-H flag and then waves it. The flag can be one your team designs
and makes from cloth, paper or other material, or it can be an “official” 4-H flag that you purchase
or borrow from your county Extension office. There is no size specification for the flag, as long as
your machine meets specifications listed on page 6. After the machine raises the flag, it needs to
make the flag wave!
MISSION
Our goal is to encourage critical thinking, creativity, innovation, and problem solving in a nontraditional learning event and to have FUN in the process. Youth who have completed third
through eighth grades can compete in the 4-H Engineering Design Challenge. Participants will
apply their STEM knowledge and skills to solve problems by identifying and researching them,
then making and implementing a plan to design a solution.
(rōōb’ gōld’bûrg’)
. [After Reuben (
) L.
(18831970), inventor of such contrivances.] Of, relating to, or being a contrivance that
accomplishes by complicated means what apparently could have been
accomplished simply.
Webster’s II New College Dictionary, 1995.
Rube Goldberg (1883-1970) was a Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist who was best known for his
wacky inventions. They appeared as cartoons in daily newspapers for about 50 years, and his
popularity made him a cultural touchstone.
A RG is an overly complex contraption that does a simple task. The best ones use everyday items
in a whimsical way. They interact as a series of chain-reaction steps that culminate in
accomplishing the task. In the 4-H Engineering Design Challenge, youth not only employ physics
and engineering, but humor and storytelling, to create their RGs. Teams are encouraged to create
a theme for their RG and incorporate it into a story.
Teams that build a RG and complete the supplemental recordkeeping documents (journal or
record of their work and a poster or other summary description of the work) can demonstrate
their machine at their county fair. Teams that qualify at county fair will earn a trip to the
Minnesota State Fair to show their RG.
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CONTENTS
Page
Who can be on a team?
4
Registration
A. Team sign-up steps (4HOnline account)
B. County fair registration
C. State fair registration
4
RG specifications
6
Theme and story
7
Recordkeeping materials
Team notebook
7
Design Process Stages
8
Summary presentation
8
Frequently asked questions
 Questions about RG
 Questions about this year’s challenge
 Questions about RG teams
9
Exhibiting your machine at state and county fairs
Transporting and storing your machine
11
Fair judging
Judging form
Judging guidelines
12
TWO INFORMATIONAL WEBINARS
There will be informational webinars for all team leaders on June 13 and
June 28, both at 6:30 p.m. CDT. Be sure to get your teams signed up before
then so that we can send you additional information about the webinars.
The first will focus more on registration and logistics questions and the
second will focus on STEM concepts, learning and curriculum, but all
questions are welcome at both meetings.
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WHO CAN BE ON A RUBE GOLDBERG TEAM?

A team must have at least

Youth who will have completed third through eighth grades by the end of the 2016-2017
school year are eligible to be on a RG team. A team may have members from any of these
grades. Youth who have completed any grade beyond eighth are not eligible to be RG team
members, but they may act as youth mentors. (See the last bullet in this section.)

In addition to the 3-10 youth, each team must have at least two adult volunteer leaders.
Each adult volunteer must complete the 4-H volunteer screening process. For more on
becoming a 4-H volunteer, visit www.4-h.umn.edu/volunteer.

All team members (youth and adult)
before the team registers
with the Extension Center for Youth Development (as described in section 2). Youth who
wish to be on a RG team but are not already 4-H members must enroll in 4-H before joining
the team. Find enrollment information at www.4-h.umn.edu/be-a-4-H-member/ or contact
your county Extension office. You can find contact information for your county Extension
office at www.extension.umn.edu/county/.

4-H members in high school or above cannot be team members, but they are welcome to
work with teams as youth mentors. Youth mentors do not replace the adult volunteer
leaders, but work with the team as an additional resource.
youth team members, but no more than
.
REGISTRATION
A.
This applies to all teams, and serves as notice to the state STEM team that
you’re taking part and should receive information and updates about the Challenge—it
helps us to plan the event and communicate with teams. The STEM team will notify your
county that you’re working on the challenge, but coaches should also be in touch with their
county program coordinators to make sure they’re aware of your participation.
- If the team wants to show their machine judged at their county
B.
fair, they will need to register through the county fair registration process.
C.
- If the team qualifies at the county fair for a trip to the Minnesota
State Fair (and chooses to accept that trip), they will need to sign up through the state fair
registration process facilitated by their county 4-H program coordinator.
A. TEAM SIGN-UP STEPS
1. Adult volunteer coaches register: Before youth team members can register, BOTH adult
volunteers who are going to coach the team must register. Adult coaches must be screened
4-H volunteers and register through their 4HOnline account. Follow the registration
instructions found on the Engineering Design Challenge: Rube Goldberg web page,
http://z.umn.edu/mn4hrubegoldberg.
2. Once both adults have registered, we will list the team in 4HOnline and notify adult
coaches that their youth team members can register.
We usually get the team entered
into 4HOnline within one to two days of receiving the second adult registration. This email
notification will go to both adult coaches to the email addresses they’ve listed in their
4HOnline account.
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3. Youth team members register: Registration instructions can be found on the Engineering
Design Challenge: Rube Goldberg web page, http://z.umn.edu/mn4hrubegoldberg.
If coaches or youth have any questions about this process, please contact Colleen at 612-624-9109
or [email protected].
Due date to sign up
We encourage teams to sign up by May 15 so that they can take part in the
informational webinars on Tuesday, June 13 and Wednesday, June 28.
B. COUNTY FAIR REGISTRATION
If a team decides to show its RG at its county fair, registration for the county fair will be at the
county level and carried out through the county fair registration process. It is the responsibility of
the team (most likely the adult volunteer leaders) to contact their county office and let staff know
the team intends to enter their machine for judging at the county fair. When it’s time to register
for their county fair, county 4-H staff will share the necessary exhibitor information/instructions
and county fair premium book with the team so that they can register to demonstrate their
machine.
If you have questions about county fair registration, please contact your county Extension office
(find your county office at http://www.4-h.umn.edu/county).
C. STATE FAIR REGISTRATION
Teams advancing to the state fair will sign up through the state fair registration process
facilitated by the county 4-H program coordinator. If you have questions about state fair
registration that your county 4-H program coordinator can’t answer, contact Amber Greeley at the
Extension Center for Youth Development [email protected] 612-624-8198.
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RG SPECIFICATIONS
MACHINE SPECIFICATION
REQUIREMENTS OR LIMITATIONS
Complete the official task (Raise a 4-H flag, and then
wave it.)
Required
Safe for participants and observers
Required
Written list of all steps in your RG
Required
Number of steps
Minimum: 10
Physical size of RG (See tip about transporting and
storing RG on page 11.)
Minimum: no minimum size
Maximum: 6 feet × 6 feet × 6 feet
Single run time to complete the task
Minimum: None
Maximum 2 minutes
Reset time (time required to set your machine up again
after a run)
Maximum: 20 minutes
Air compressor hoses running to the machine
Maximum 1 hose
AC or DC power cords running to the machine
Maximum 1 cord
Air compressor hoses and power cords used within the
machine boundaries
Unlimited
Objects flying beyond machine boundaries
Objects must stay within overall
maximum boundary of 6 feet x 6 feet x
6 feet.
Corporate logos
Allowed with written permission from
the logo owner.
Use of live animals
Not allowed
Hazardous (toxic, noxious, dangerous) materials,
explosives, or flames.
Not allowed
Combustion engines.
Not allowed (No gasoline or other
combustible fluid may be a part of the
machine.)
Use of profane, indecent, or lewd expressions, offensive
symbols or graphics.
Not allowed
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Maximum: unlimited
THEME AND STORY
While developing the design for your machine, consider the theme you’d like to have for your
machine and the story to go with the theme. The theme and story should be a fun part of creating
your machine, not a stumbling block—you might even find that your theme or story makes the
design and building of the machine a richer experience. As a team, consider how you will share
your story. Remember your team will have the opportunity to make a presentation to the
audience and judges. Videos of your presentation, while useful for documenting the process of
building your Rube Goldberg, are often cumbersome in a fair setting.
RECORDKEEPING MATERIALS
Reflecting on and recording one’s learning are important but often overlooked components of
youth development. Each team needs to document their progress and how they build their RG by
keeping a written notebook of the work they do throughout the design and building process. In
addition, the team will need to prepare a summary presentation to illustrate the work. The
recordkeeping requirements must be complete by the time the machine is judged at the county
fair. The completed notebook will be judged with the machine; if the notebook is kept in a file on
a computer, bring a printed copy with you to the conference judging at the fair.
TEAM NOTEBOOK
The team notebook is a record of the team’s ideas, progress, setbacks and accomplishments
throughout the process of designing and building the RG. The notebook can be a spiral bound
school notebook, a three-ring binder with loose-leaf sheets, a bound book with blank pages or an
electronic notebook in a computer file. Whichever notebook your team chooses it should be
accessible to all the team members and everyone should have the opportunity to make entries and
record information. A useful notebook contains both writing and drawings as a way of capturing
ideas and figuring out how to make the machine work. If an idea is not used or if something does
not work, do not scribble it out or erase the information. Instead, make a note next to the drawing
or writing explaining why the idea wasn’t used or why it did not work. We recommend that each
time the team meets, use the last 10 to 15 minutes of the meeting to add an entry to the team
notebook. Only one person from the team needs to make the entry, but we encourage teams to
rotate this role through different team members each time they meet. The best notebooks are the
ones that are used consistently throughout the process of building the RG. The notebooks that
are not as helpful are the ones filled out after the machine is built or are hardly filled out at all.
…the location, date and length of time the team worked on the
machine. Record who was present at each of the sessions; document each of the experiments.
Explain if the experiment worked or did not work and why.
The purpose of the notebook is to give the team members a means of reflecting on what they
learned and accomplished each time they met, and how/whether the engineering design process
guided the team’s work. The notebook also provides documentation to the fair conference judges
of the team’s work, including research, successes, setbacks and progress. The following page
illustrates the five stages of the design process and outlines some questions that may help the
team record their meeting entries.
1 Reference source: Barker, K. (2005) At the Bench A Laboratory Navigator Published by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press: Cold Spring Harbor, New York
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DESIGN PROCESS STAGES
The design process has five stages:
Problem
definition
1. Problem definition
2. Information gathering
Redesign
Information
gathering
3. Idea generation
4. Testing and decision-making
5. Redesign
Testing and
decisionmaking
Idea
generation
REFLECTING ON YOUR PROCESS
Problem definition:

What is one problem that your team ran into today?
Information gathering:



What did your team know already that helped you think of a solution?
What more does your team need to know to help you think of a solution?
How does your team plan to gather the information that you need?
Idea generation and decision-making:


List the ideas that your team came up with for solving the problem.
How did your team decide which of these ideas to test?


Did it work? If yes, how? If not, what more did your team do to solve the problem?
Write down the information/data that your team collects from testing to help you
make a decision/solve the problem.

What did your team do to improve your design/or solve the problem?
Testing:
Redesign:
SUMMARY PRESENTATION
The purpose of the summary is to assist the team in describing their experience during the
conference judging at the fair. The summary can be a one- or two-page account that highlights the
team’s experience, or it can be a poster, photographs, a video or any other medium the team
wants to use to demonstrate their team’s experience. The team may also want to display the
summary for fair visitors to see (but this is not required). While the journal helps the team think
about what they’ve learned in each small step, the summary highlights the “aha moments,” the
fun, and maybe also some of the frustrations the team had from the time they first began to plan
their machine to the day they decided it was finished.
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
QUESTIONS ABOUT RG
A step in the machine is a
from one action to another action; identical
transfers of energy in succession should be counted as 1 step.
Example A sequence of dominos hitting each other counts as 1 step. Counting 100 dominoes as
100 steps is repetitive and not in the spirit of Rube Goldberg.
Yes, but their use must fit within the definition of a step. Steps that use controllers
should be clearly stated in the written step list and include detailed information on how the
transfer of energy is accomplished. Using controllers as a fail-safe is illegal and will result in
disqualification.
A ball falls onto a switch connected to a controller that turns on a motor.
NOT ALLOWED: If the ball misses the switch but the controller still starts the motor, the controller
is not transferring energy from one action to another action; it is acting as a fail-safe instead of a
step and is illegal.
ALLOWED: If the ball hits the switch and the controller starts the motor.
Answer: Once the first step in your machine takes place (e.g. someone pushes a ball onto a ramp),
the machine should function all the way to the end without a person touching it. However,
sometimes the machine may fail to reach the last steps to accomplish the task. If a machine fails
before it completes the task, it may be necessary for a person to start it again from the point
where it failed. That is a human intervention. See the example judging form on page 13 for what
judges will look for in the RGs.
No. All entries must be new machines created and built for entry into this competition.
: No, your machine can be smaller than the maximum allowed dimensions, it just can’t be
larger.
: This year’s task is raising a 4-H flag and then waving it. You could select a theme that
ties in with where or when you might raise a flag (for example, your theme might be a 4-H camp
or a county fair). Once you think of your theme, the story will begin to take shape.
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: Information gathering is a key step in the Design Process. Some of the information may
be what you and your teammates already knew before you started to think about your machine. In
that case, your source is your other teammates or maybe the class in school where you learned
the information, or maybe a parent or relative or a 4-H volunteer who taught it to you.
But you probably won’t know everything before you start. The library, your teachers, the Internet,
your family and friends are all good sources for helping you figure out how to solve a problem.
You might also visit a factory or an engineer to get information.
QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS YEAR’S CHALLENGE
:
: You may create your own 4-H flag, or use a flag you purchase or borrow from your
county. The flag can be made out of cloth, paper, or other material you choose. There is no size
specification for the flag.
:
: Yes. The waving of the flag needs to be more than just the result of the motion of its
being raised. Waving needs to be a step or steps that follow the raising of the flag.
QUESTIONS ABOUT RG TEAMS
Yes. A team may have youth from more than one grade, as long as they are between third
and eighth grades.
Yes. However, the team must be affiliated with a specific county’s 4-H program. If they
exhibit their Rube Goldberg design at a county fair, it will be the fair of the county they’re
affiliated with.
Yes. It’s best if the whole team comes to the fair, but we understand some members
might already have started school or be on a family vacation at the time of their county’s
encampment at the state fair. A team that qualifies to demonstrate their machine at the state fair
does not need to have all members present at the state fair. They do need to have enough team
members to transport, assemble, demonstrate, and disassemble the machine. (This can mean
walking a couple of blocks from a parking lot to the 4-H building with the machine at the state
fair.) As many team members as
come
come to this team event!
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Yes. The engineering design process (p. 8) encourages us to learn from experience and
redesign to improve the creation!
You can contact Colleen Byrne ([email protected]) at the University of Minnesota
Extension Center for Youth Development. There will also be two
for adult
volunteer team coaches; please bring your questions, comments and suggestions to those
meetings on June 13 and June 28 (both meetings will begin at 6:30 p.m. CDT).
EXHIBITING YOUR MACHINE AT COUNTY AND STATE FAIRS
Be sure to read the information in the registration section about registering to compete at your
county fair or at the state fair. It is essential that you work with your county 4-H staff to register
for these fairs.
TRANSPORTING AND STORING YOUR MACHINE
County Fair
Space availability differs from one county fair to another. Teams must contact their county
Extension staff regarding their plans to exhibit their machine at the county fair. The staff will be
able to give you guidelines on whether or not you’ll be able to drive right up to the exhibit space
at your county fair to unload (and reload) your machine, and whether or not it can be stored at the
fairgrounds before or after the fair takes place.
State Fair
Teams attending the state fair should plan on bringing their machine to the fair on the day of
their conference judging, and taking the machine back to their home county after judging. Some
exceptions may be made for teams traveling a long distance that arrange to have their machine
transported on their county bus. Any such arrangements must be made ahead of time with
Minnesota 4-H state fair staff.
Private vehicles may not drive onto the fairgrounds during the state fair, so you won’t be able to
drive up to the 4-H building to drop off your machine, nor will machines be allowed that are built
onto tractors, lawn mowers, golf carts or other self-propelling vehicles.
We will make an effort to arrange with the Minnesota State Fair to allow us to provide a truck to
transport machines onto and off of the fairgrounds (early in the morning and late in the evening),
but Minnesota 4-H must comply with the Minnesota State Fair policies and can’t guarantee
transportation assistance. If Minnesota 4-H is allowed to provide assistance, information will be
communicated to teams shortly before the state fair opens.
Tips from previous participants
 Whether we are allowed to offer transportation assistance or not, you may want to make
your machine easy to break down into transportable segments that can be loaded onto
dollies or wagons that can be walked to and inside of the 4-H building. (Parking at the
state fair can be crowded, and you might have to transport your machine several blocks on
foot.) We do understand that transporting your machine can be a difficult process.
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 The RG judging area in the 4-H building at the state fairgrounds is a carpeted area. If your
machine needs to be assembled on a hard, smooth surface, you should bring that surface
to the fair.
FAIR JUDGING
All entries will be judged using the conference judging process, where a team meets with the judges at
the fair and talks with them about their machine, including developing the design, building it, solving
problems, identifying lessons and their applications and working as a team. Final ribbon placement will
be based 50% on the team members’ knowledge of that process and 50% on the machine itself.
Ribbon placements will be purple, blue, red or white.
WHAT THE RIBBON COLORS MEAN

Purple. The exhibit meets all standards. The exhibitor has shown complete understanding of
what, how, and why the exhibit was done, and has a thorough knowledge of the subject. The
exhibit and workmanship are extraordinary and need no improvement.

Blue. The exhibit meets most standards. The exhibitor can explain what, how, and why the
exhibit was done and has a good knowledge of the subject. The exhibit is well organized and
well done.

Red. The exhibit meets some standards. The exhibitor can somewhat explain what, how, and
why the exhibit was done and has a fair knowledge of the subject. Some improvements may be
needed on the exhibit.

White. The exhibit meets few standards and lacks the quality of other exhibits. The exhibitor
cannot adequately explain the what, how, and why of the exhibit. Possibly they have
overlooked a safety flaw. Improvement is needed in either the exhibit, the knowledge of the
subject, or both.
JUDGING PROCESS

The team will participate in a public presentation and conference-judging-style experience.

Teams will share their journals during conference judging and review the process for the
design and construction of their RG.

Team members will share with the judge their individual contributions to the construction of
the machine.

The team will demonstrate its machine for the judge and the general public.

Teams that complete the judging process will be awarded a purple, blue, red, or white ribbon at
county and state fairs.

For a better understanding of the judging process, take a look at the example judging form and
the judging guidelines and suggested questions on pages 14-16.
STATE FAIR
Qualifying teams that choose to compete at the state fair will be asked to choose between their
county’s assigned encampment, or a day during the first weekend of the fair. (You’ll need to inform us
of that choice in July. We can’t guarantee you’ll get your choice, but we’ll try to accommodate all teams’
choices.) Team judging will take place in the exhibit center space of the 4-H building. Teams will be
allotted two hours to set up their Rube Goldberg. Teams will be assigned a judging time during their
county’s encampment.
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ENGINEERING DESIGN CHALLENGE
RUBE GOLDBERG JUDGING FORM
Grade range of
team members
Date
Much
Improvement
Needed
Purple
Blue
Red
White
Very Good




Team Name
Number of team
members at judging
Some
Improvement
Needed
County
Rube Goldberg Machine
Theme or story about the machine
Sequences of steps are clear and described; energy transfer is
described; simple machines are identified
Degree of machine complexity
Degree of innovation, creative use of everyday items in new ways
Degree of human intervention
Machine run time:
Up to 2 minutes—very good
2-3 minutes—some improvement needed
Over 3 minutes—much improvement needed
Worked as a team, role of each team member is identified and described
Conference Judging
Discovered ways problems were solved and described using examples;
demonstrates perseverance
Identified “lessons” learned and how they apply beyond RG
Conducted research (sought information and knowledge)
Elements of the design process stages are evident
Provided a record or journal that documents the process of building the
RG
Machine Specifications
Number of Steps (≥10)
Task completed
Objects leaving the machine
Machine does not exceed size requirement
Machine meets rule and safety requirements
Specifications met
Specifications not
met
Rube Goldberg
Judging Guidelines
WORTHY
GOOD
EXCELLENT
Task not completed OR
Task completed with multiple human
interventions outside of the specified time
constraints
Task completed with multiple human
interventions in the specified time
constraints OR Task completed with 2
human interventions in the specified time
constraints
Task completed with one human
intervention in the specified time
constraints OR Task completed with no
human intervention in the specified time
constraints
Fits criteria of RG
(simple task completed in
complicated manner);
sequence of steps is clear
and described; energy
transfer is described;
simple machines are
identified.
Does not meet machine specification
requirements and there was not discussion
of the sequence of steps, energy transfer or
simple machines
In written or in verbal presentation, one of
these criteria were not described clearly:
 Sequence of steps are clearly
described
 Energy transfer is described
 Simple machines are identified
Meets machine specification requirements
and limitations
In written or in verbal presentation
 The sequence of steps is clearly
described,
 Energy transfer is described, and
 Simple machines are identified
Degree of complication
Simple transfers of energy with little
degree of difficulty or complication
Less than half of the steps demonstrated a
difficult and precise transfer of energy.
Over half of the steps demonstrated a
difficult and precise transfer of energy.
Degree of innovation:
Tool or machine is used
in new/different way(s),
used creatively.
Demonstrated thinking
outside the box.
None identified.
Less than half of the steps demonstrate an
innovative, different, creative use of tools.
Over half of the steps demonstrate an
innovative, different, creative use of tools.
(Tools/machines are “re-purposed.”)
No teamwork identified.
Team was dominated by one or more
members; unequal distribution of
workload or opportunity for input OR
roles were not clearly articulated.
Each team member had a clearly defined
role that was articulated or demonstrated
to the evaluators in some method.
None identified.
Problem solving was evident but not
clearly described.
Team was able to describe how one or
more problems were solved using
examples; demonstrated perseverance to
get through problems.
None identified.
Team did not or could not articulate what
they learned during this project.
Team was able to describe what they
learned during this project and how those
lessons can be used in life.
Task Completion
Worked as a team; role
of each team member is
identified and described
Ways that problems were
solved are described,
using examples;
demonstrating
perseverance
Identification of
“lessons” learned and
how they apply beyond
RG
14
Rube Goldberg Judging Guidelines
Research (seeking of
information or
knowledge) conducted
None identified.
Team did not seek information outside of
the team.
Elements of the design
process stages are
evident
None identified.
Fewer than 3 of the design process stages
are evident in the project.
Sources of knowledge or information
outside of the team were intentionally
consulted and incorporated into the
project.
At least 3 of the design process stages are
evident





Problem definition
Information gathering
Idea generation
Testing and decision-making
Redesign
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