Fourth-grade Hands-On-Science: Class Makes Rube Goldberg Machines

Each fourth-grade student enjoys the opportunity to build and use a complex Rube Goldberg machine. A Rube Goldberg machine is not easy to build but it is so much fun to watch them work. These machines use a series of mechanical tasks to accomplish a goal. The machine's tasks are made to trigger a sequence of action, one after another until the final goal is accomplished. In fourth-grade our students built their Rube Goldberg Machines to accomplish the specific task of turning on a LED flashlight which our students also built, from component parts, in their Hands-on Science class.