NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - Oct 18, 2016) - The RUBE GOLDBERG MACHINE CONTEST (RGMC) announced today its first ever national sponsor for the 2017 international STEM-based student competition. Participants in the 2017 Contest will be asked to apply a BAND-AID® Brand Adhesive Bandage. The non-profit company, Rube Goldberg, Inc. (RGI), is the contest organizer.
Every year, thousands of students enter machines into RGMC competitions to compete in that year's task. From more than a dozen countries, students from grade school through college create wacky machines that complete a simple task using the famous Rube Goldberg "Invention" cartoons as their inspiration. In 2017, the student competitors will create machines using everyday, found objects to apply a BAND-AID® Brand Adhesive Bandage. Using the basic precepts of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) the students build machines that tell a story, while also employing simple machine theory, creativity, teamwork and humor.
"Next year, RUBE GOLDBERG MACHINE CONTESTS will celebrate its 30th anniversary, and the contest resonates now more than ever," said Jennifer George, RGI's Legacy Director and Rube's granddaughter. "We are excited to partner with BAND-AID® Brand Adhesive Bandages, which embody my grandfather's legacy of resilience to achieve the task or goal at hand. We can't wait to see the innovative machines our student participants create to apply a BAND-AID® Brand Adhesive Bandage."
"The contest is rooted in getting kids to disconnect from their laptops and tablets to engage in a fun team-centric, social activity that uses all aspects of our education system," continued George. "Throughout the contest, students use every STEM discipline to build these quirky chain reaction machines; but the contraptions that rank highest in our events utilize the arts, as well. Machines with narrative, artistry and humor truly represent the work of my grandfather. I like to think he was also the grandfather of STEAM before it was an acronym!"
Students from elementary school through college may form teams of ten or fewer, and compete first locally, then later nationally. The RUBE GOLDBERG MACHINE CONTEST has both Live and Online divisions so students all over the world can compete.
To enter or host a RUBE GOLDBERG MACHINE CONTEST, please visit https://www.rubegoldberg.com/contests/. The deadline for entering online is March 31, 2017.
About Rube Goldberg and Rube Goldberg, Inc.
Rube Goldberg (1883-1970) was an artist particularly well-known in mid-century America for his newspaper cartoons featuring complicated contraptions that completed simple tasks. Most of these cartoons employed simple engineering to accomplish ordinary, household tasks in humorous ways. He was also an editorial cartoonist who won the Pulitzer Prize in 1948. The term "Rube Goldberg" is part of the American vernacular and has been featured in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary since 1938, meaning: A complicated and humorous way to complete a simple, everyday task.
Rube Goldberg, Inc is a not-for-profit company that supports STEM-based education by sponsoring the RUBE GOLDBERG MACHINE CONTEST and encouraging the use of Rube Goldberg's artwork in educational endeavors.
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