Rube Goldberg

Theta Tau and EJC are partnering up to present to you...

The E-Week Rube Goldberg Competition

Date: February 23rd, 2012
Time: 1:30PM
Location: Ghausi Hall Lobby

Task: Pop a Balloon!
Challenge: Build a machine that has 5 Steps or more and runs in exactly 30 seconds.

What is Rube Goldberg?
"A Rube Goldberg machine is a deliberately overengineered apparatus that performs a very simple task in a very complex fashion, usually using a chain reaction" (Wikipedia).
A few examples of Rube Goldberg Machines include the family board game Mouse Trap, the 2010 music video "This too shall pass" by OK Go and the music video "Honest Mistake" by the Bravery. Other Rube Goldberg Machines have been featured in films such as Back to the Future, Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, Edward Scissorhands, Robots, Ernest Goes to Jail and Goonies. For this competition, teams will need to build a machine that machine greater than 1ft^3 that will pop a balloon with 5 steps or more in thirty (30) seconds exactly.

About the Competition
Theta Tau and EJC are partnering up to host the first annual E-week Rube Goldberg competition. This competition is less demanding than the bigger Picnic Day Rube Goldberg competition which takes place on Picnic Day. Nonetheless, it's encompasses the essential elements of Rube Goldberg such as creativity, innovation and teamwork. The E-week Rube Goldberg Competition is one of many events that will be taking place during Engineering Week.

Why Participate?
If you are in the engineering major of if you're interested in engineering, designing a Rube Goldberg Machine will give you valueable technical and teamwork experience you would similarly recieve from a senior design project, and it is looked well upon by industry. Yet we are not making the competition exclusive to engineers, anyone can team up with anyone, and bring a variety of skills and talents to the project.

Registering for the Competition
To be an eligible contestant, you must have a team of at least 2 members. Please read over and fill out the registration form, and email a soft copy to rubegoldberg@davisthetatau.org any time before February 5th, 2012.

Sponsorship
We are always looking for corporate sponsors, willing to help fund or work with any of the teams that enter the competition at UC Davis. If you are an employer seeking such an opportunity, please contact rubegoldberg@davisthetatau.org, and one of our officers will respond to you shortly.

If you have any questions or any technical difficulties, please contact rubegoldberg@davisthetatau.org