The Rube Goldberg Institute for Innovation & Creativity

A Rube Goldberg Machine (RGM) is a crazy contraption which accomplishes a simple task in the most complicated – and funniest – way possible! Based on the “Invention” cartoons of the famous Pulitzer Prize-winning American cartoonist, Rube Goldberg, actual machines are at the heart of the Rube Goldberg Machine Contest®. They use everyday items (mostly junk!), they tell a story and, most important of all – they make you LAUGH. Thousands of students have celebrated Rube’s legacy by creating Rube Goldberg Machines™ in our annual Rube Goldberg Machine Contest® and they’ve learned – and laughed – a lot. On a formal basis, this learning experience now falls under the category of STEM / STEAM (Science, Technology Engineering, Art and Math) education – something which came naturally to Rube who was trained as an engineer but was an inventor and artist at heart. A Rube Goldberg Machine Contest® (RGMC) is an event where students of all ages compete with the machines they have imagined, designed and created in a fun and competitive forum. The competitions encourage teamwork and out-of-the-box problem solving, in a fresh learning environment and level playing field.