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A machine that performs simple tasks in an indirect way, relying on chain reactions.

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Dominos lines up, hitting each other to make all of them fall.

Popsicle sticks linked together with

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It is anything that makes the earth dirty and unhealthy.

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Oil accidentally spilling into the sea, agriculture products like fertilizers and pesticides seeping into the soil, and even excess noise and light can pollute the environment.

There are four main types of pollution: air, water, noise, and soil or land pollution.

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A sea otter carefully uses its paws to free itself from a plastic bag that's tangled loosely around its body. This sea otter isn't the only animal to have a dangerous run-in with litter: It's estimated that about half of all marine mammals have eaten or gotten trapped by plastic.

A LITTLE POLLUTION = BIG PROBLEMS

Plastic pollution is different from paper or food waste because it never fully decomposes, or breaks down into pieces that can be reused by nature. Instead, plastic often ends up in water, where it releases toxic chemicals and can be mistaken for food. In a study conducted by the journal Science, scientists estimate that 8.8 million tons of plastic enter the ocean every year, threatening over 700 species of marine animals.

Plastic trash isn't the Earth's only pollution problem. Oil accidentally spilling into the sea, agriculture products like fertilizers and pesticides seeping into the soil, and even excess noise and light can pollute the environment.

For instance, the sounds made by ships mess with whale calls, and bright lights can confuse animals such as birds and newly hatched sea turtles.

CLEANING UP OUR ACT

Once released into the environment, pollution can affect wildlife habitats for years. It's easy to blame factories, but some of the mess comes from everyday human activities. For instance, car exhaust fumes and excess garbage can seriously harm Earth's health.

You can probably clean your room in a couple of hours. (At least we hope you can!) But you can't cram Earth's pollution problem into your closet. We all need to pitch in and clean up the planet. Look at it this way: Just like your room, it's always better to prevent the Earth from getting dirty in the first place. Check out these tips for cutting down on your own personal waste.

Recycle: The process of turning stuff that would otherwise be thrown away as trash into new products

Compost: Decaying material, like leftover food scraps, that adds nutrients to soil and helps plants grow

Decompose: The process of breaking down something into parts that can be reused by nature; for example, fallen leaves decompose to become soil.

Biodegradable: Something usually used by people that decomposes; for example, unlike a plastic spoon, a biodegradable spoon won't stay in the environment for thousands of years-it'll decompose.

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Find out how pollution from plastic, light, oil, and other trash affects Earth.

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attraction

machine

popped

spilling

gravity

melted

environment

domino

force

observe

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fundamental

pollution

decomposes

agriculture

pesticide

fertilizer

investigation

experiment

Rube Goldberg Machine

seeping

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This type of pollution is different from paper or food waste because it never fully decomposes.

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The cause explains why something happens. The effect is the description of what happened.

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When firefighters put the fire out with water, the cause is the fire and the effect is the water putting it out.

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When firefighters put the fire out with water, the cause is the fire and the effect is the water putting it out.

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The ice cube fell on the sidewalk and melted because it was hot.

The cat ran away because the door was left open.

The girl cried because her balloon popped.

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A chain reaction is a series of events so related to each other that each one starts the next one.

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Starts small, but has a much larger impact at the end.

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Starts small, but has a much larger impact at the end.

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While using dominos, for example, find the best way to set up 10 dominos so that all of them fall, then try using more and finding the most creative way that they all still fall. Observe the speed that the dominos fall at and record the time it takes.

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Build a Rube Goldberg Machine with Kids

So, are you interested in building a Rube Goldberg-style machine with little kids? This post will give you a few tips and ideas to make your own complicated machine.

This project has long been on my to-do list with my kids. We are long-time fans of marble runs (see the resources page for recommendations), and extending our love for rolling balls and ramps into the world of Rube Goldberg was a no-brainer. And triple hurrah for projects that celebrate STEM and STEAM learning. We were on the hunt for easy Rube Goldberg ideas, watched a few videos, and came up with this fun solution that works for young children.

About Rube Goldberg

For the uninitiated, Rube Goldberg was an American Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist, sculptor, author, engineer, and inventor, and his work is a classic example of the melding of art and science. Goldberg began his career as an engineer, and later became a cartoonist who drew elaborate illustrations of contraptions made up of pulleys, cups, birds, balloons, and watering cans that were designed to solve a simple task such as opening a window or setting an alarm clock. Interestingly, Goldberg only drew the pictures, and never built any of his inventions. However, these pictures have since served as inspiration for makers and builders who want the challenge of making wild inventions to solve everyday problems.

And apparently, Rube Goldberg is a now an adjective in the dictionary! You can read more about Goldberg here.

Step 1: Get Inspired

First things first, you'll want to watch some Rube Goldberg contraptions in action to get inspired. My kids and I LOVE this video from OK Go. It's incredible complicated, but oh-so-amazing, so don't think for one hot second that you'll be able to replicate this with little kids. I'll add more inspiring videos below.

Step 2: Solve a Problem

Next, come up with a simple problem that you're trying to solve. For example:

Once you have a problem sorted out (and don't worry - you can change this later if you want), gather supplies...

Step 3: Gather Supplies
You can print out the following list here.
Collect a bucket-full of supplies and then lay them out so they're easily seen. These can largely be found in your home or classroom - start with what you have! You will most likely start with some of these basics, and then forage your home or classroom for more supplies as you go. Here are some ideas to get you started:

Things that Roll

Marbles

Balls: Tennis, Baseball, Bowling, etc.

Toy Cars

Dominoes

Skateboard

Roller Skate

Mousetrap

Things that Move

Ramps

Recyclables

Household Materials

Step 4: Build Your Machine!

Once you have the supplies ready, start building. While the OK Go video (and others like it) includes some pretty complex machines and concepts, keep this simple for preschoolers. The basic concept that we're exploring is that of a chain reaction, so anything that tips something else over (and so one) is what you're going for. Don't worry too much about building things like pulleys and levers for young children.

Take a look at our machine to get a sense of what's possible.

Our Rube Goldberg Machine in Action

5 Tips for Success

1. Success breeds enthusiasm, so keep the steps to a minimum. You can always add more as you go.

2. Keep your expectations low

3. Ask your child for ideas and input

4. Work collaboratively

5. Aim to have fun

A Note on Failure

As you test and try out different set-ups, you'll undoubtedly fail a few times. I could have filled a 20 minute video with outtakes from all our misses (the balloon is a good example of that). But this is great news! Failure is an intrinsic piece of the invention process, and without these mistakes we won't learn how things really work. So embrace failure and celebrate it as part of the learning process.

Next Steps: Full STEAM Ahead

Ask: What other simple problems could we solve?

Ask: What materials could we use?

Ask: Why didn't that work? How could we fix it or try it again?

Encourage your child to problem solve by seeking out materials and moving objects.

Did you enjoy this project? Join the semi-secret Club TinkerLab on Facebook to swap and share more ideas like this.

Inspiring Rube Goldberg Machines

Watch this one light up a Christmas tree

Learn about Rube Goldberg Machines on Sesame Street

Easy Rube Goldberg Example

More Projects like this one
DIY Paper Tube Marble Run Fort Building Kit DIY Water Wall, it's like a marble run, but with water! Build an easy light table Make Gumdrop Sculptures
Activate Learning with STEAM

If you've been a loyal TinkerLab fan (thank you! you mean the world to me.) you'll know that I'm happiest sharing projects that live at the intersection of disciplines. Too often we're quick to separate science from writing or math from art, but when we seek out ways to make interdisciplinary connections, learning can be more meaningful and novel discoveries can be made.

In that vein, you may also enjoy these projects that circle around STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) ideas. This week's theme is REACT, and you can see the other reaction-related ideas here:

Stixplosions | Babble Dabble Do

Smoosh Painting | Meri Cherry

Color Changing Chemistry Clock | Left Brain Craft Brain

Zoom Ball | What Do We Do All Day?

Glowing Hands | All For The Boys

Rainbow Reactions | Lemon Lime Adventures

Colorful Chemical Reaction | Frugal Fun for Boys

STEAM on Pinterest

You might also enjoy following my STEAM + STEM Activities board on Pinterest for more ideas like this.

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Engineering Kids | Rube Goldberg Machine - TinkerLab

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How to build a Rube Goldberg machine with little inventors, ages 4 and up.

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Gravity is the force of attraction between two objects. It is what makes things fall and what keeps us from floating off into space. Gravity is a fundamental force of nature.

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Students can use dominos made of foam or larger dominos if needed.