Student earns Honorable Mention in Rube Goldberg contest

The contest, open to students worldwide, asks participants to imagine, draw and submit a cartoon that solves any problem. At the heart of any Rube Goldberg Machine is taking a common, everyday task that can be accomplished quite easily, and making it far more complicated. Inventions were required to have between seven and 26 steps. A step is defined as the transfer of energy in the chain reaction.

Tyler’s invention provided a “simple” way to reveal a statue.

“The ball rolls down the track to hit the boot. The boot swings forward to knock the sandwich over, which falls on the dog’s plate. The dog moves forward to eat, making the scissors cut the string connected to the weight, which is holding back the bowling ball. The string falls down with the weight and the bowling ball is released. Then the bowling ball rolls into the basket, which then makes the basket go down, lifting the tarp to reveal the statue,” Tyler explained.

Sherri Garvey, gifted/enrichment resource teacher, had shared information about the Rube Goldberg contest with students over the summer.

“I was cartooning after I watched a documentary about Mickey Mouse, and thought it would look cool to animate a Rube Goldberg drawing,” Tyler said. “I think it’s fun watching something overcomplicate a simple task. Then I heard about the contest from Mrs. Garvey.”  

The top 20 invention cartoons were recognized at the Reuben Awards, the highest honor for a cartoonist, and on the organization’s website – rubegoldberg.org.

View Tyler's animated cartoon on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pus10SHALcU. (His entry is at the 4 minute, 55 second mark of the video.)