Have you ever heard of a Rube Goldberg invention before?

Rube Goldberg was a famous cartoonist who lived from 1883 to 1970. Although Rube Goldberg was originally an engineer, he quickly decided that engineering was not for him and started working for a newspaper instead. He began submitting cartoons to the newspaper’s editor. The editor decided to publish the cartoons and Rube Goldberg became very successful for his creative drawings. He even ended up winning the Pulitzer Prize, a VERY important award, for his inventive cartoons!

So what made Rube Goldberg’s cartoon so inventive? Rube didn’t just draw ordinary cartoons- he drew elaborate, complicated machines made up of springs, cogs, animals, and everyday objects in order to accomplish a simple task, like making breakfast! You can create your own virtual Rube Goldberg invention on the Zoom Website.

Last year at Maker Faire, a group of people created their own Rube Goldberg invention when they built a life size version of the fun board game, Mouse Trap! You can watch their creation here:

You don’t have to be an adult to come up with your own Rube Goldberg invention! Ask your parents for permission to use things around the house like toilet paper tubes, pieces of cardboard, dominoes, string, marbles, and more! What kind of an invention can you come up with? Tell us about it!