By: John Ashley A. Aguinaldo
Grade 6-Queen of Queens
From the start, I thought it was easy to build a Rube Goldberg machine out of materials from home. My plan for this project is just simple yet creative. I got some inspiration for my plan from YouTube. First, I have to think of the objective of my machine. I listed a few like throwing trash in the bin, watering the plants, pumping the alcohol and wake-up-Daddy. Finally, I chose to water the plants and then I started gathering all the materials that I can use. I finalized my design and drew my plan. When the time came to build my machine, it was raining for days. I originally planned to set it up in my grandma’s garden but it was raining. So, after making a few changes on my design, I decided to do it inside. At first it was easy to set it up. In just a few minutes, I was able to put everything in its place. Now came the real challenge. Would I be able to do it in one try? Well, I found out – I cannot! I had many trials and errors when I built my obstacles. I had to measure the weight, distances, and positions and where my cars and dominoes will land. The hardest part was getting just the correct weight for the bottle to move sideways and pour some water.
When I was done arranging my machine, I tested it first but I already took a video so it will not be a waste. After testing the machine several times, it worked as I expected, so I built it again. When I was done rebuilding it, I took a video again until I captured some views that are worth adding to the final video. When I was done with the video, I edited the footage. It took me almost 5 hours to complete the project.
This experience taught me that you need creativity, determination, and most especially, patience to build a Rube Goldberg machine. Oh, and you must have fun too.
