Rube Goldberg Contraption

Joseph Herscher's Page Turner. Photo: Chang W. Lee/nytimes.com

I came across an interesting video on how a Rube Goldberg contraption is used to turn a page of a newspaper.

A Rube Goldberg machine or contraption is a deliberately over-engineered or overdone machine that performs a very simple task in a very complex fashion, usually including a chain reaction. The expression is named after Rube Goldberg, a famous American cartoonist and inventor.

I used to discuss with my high-ability classes about this amazing contraption when I was teaching the P5 Science unit on Simple Machines. This topic is no longer in the Primary School Upper Block Science syllabus. I challenged the pupils to draw a cartoon of a contraption that they would like to invent to perform a task.

A short summary of the contraption:

Joseph Herscher takes a sip of his coffee, pulling a string, thereby tipping paintings. Balls roll down the paintings, lighting a burner to boil water and causes some books to tip. A vase and a computer get knocked off the table, releasing tape to open front page of newspaper.

For an interactive full description of the machine:
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/01/08/nyregion/turning-a-page-the-jos...

Go to this weblink to view the cartoons by Rube Goldberg:

http://www.rubegoldberg.com/?page=gallery#

Suggestions for parents:

During the holidays, you and your kids may want to start building a simple Rube Goldberg contraption. It is a GREAT way to bond as a family and at the same time, it can allow the child to apply the Science concepts learnt and to develop his problem solving skills.