Rube Goldberg

Bug had to do a Rube Goldberg project for Science so of course she enlisted Grandpa, our very own Rube Goldberg, to help her. She had to decide on an action so she chose to make a cupcake sprinkle shaker. Grandpa used his old rector set to build the holder and mechanism for the sprinkles, and she designed a course which Daddy helped her build

Here is her design...the pictures should have gone side by side but I couldn't get it all in the photo. It was a pretty clever design! It had to last at least 10 seconds and I think it ended up at 15.

It's hard to tell from the pictures but it started with Peaches' little toy train pulling a Lego out of the way...

 

 which caused a golf ball to roll down a ramp on the mantle, into a cup. 

 

Which caused another golf ball to roll down a train track on the shelf and bump into a marble which went rolling through a tube that crossed the divide between the shelf and the dining table.

 

And when it got to the other end it came flying out and landed on a mouse trap which jerked a string attached to a rolling pin, which then rocked back, hitting some blocks, which knocked a pair of wire cutters off the table...

 

 

 

That were attached to a string/pulley that turned the handle of Grandpa's mechanism and caused the sprinkle shaker to go back and forth three times.

It only took a couple of tries to get it to work! In the successful run the first golf ball actually missed the cup but still managed to knock the other golf ball on the correct path.

 

 

Here's the video. I was pretty impressed!

 

 

Good job Buggy! And thanks for the help Grandpa!!!