Category Archives: Rube Goldberg

A Rube Goldberg Celebration of Scientific Heroes

April 6, 2014Exhibition, Pitches, Quests, Rube Goldberg, Speechessandefer

As our end of session celebration, we invited parents and other adults to an exhibition honoring Scientific Heroes, the men and women who improve the world through creating new ideas (like Einstein); new inventions (like Edison) and new innovations (like Ford.)

Guests were asked to listen to one minute video pitches, to see which full length Eagle speeches they wanted to attend (there were six speech pods going on simultaneously) and then mingle among the various Rube Goldberg contraptions honoring different scientists. (Here’s a link to some of the video pitchers: http://vimeo.com/user26478640/videos )

The votes of the crowd would decide not only the best pitches, best speeches and best Rube Goldberg contraptions, but also whether the Explorer, Inventor or Innovator team would win the grand prize – a trip on Friday to see a documentary about how Vermeer’s paintings were made.

The speeches were terrific, as each Eagle stood in the shoes of a Scientific Hero he or she had chosen, and explained what motivated the hero to persevere through hardships and failures to create a idea, invention or innovation that changed the world.

The votes were tallied. There was a narrow margin between the three teams. Now it was time to trigger the first of twenty four sequential Rube Goldberg devices; for every device that failed, the corresponding team would lose 100 points.

In other words, the entire contest would come down to the reliability of the Rube Goldberg devices. (In the unlikely event that ALL the Rube Goldberg machines worked, everyone would win a trip to see the documentary.)

A drum roll; then the big moment. The first machines were flawless; then a vibration from a guest sent one machine off prematurely; then another failure and another. By the end, the Inventors won by a narrow margin.

Some Eagles were crestfallen; they had worked hard on their Rube Goldberg machines, adding redundancies and testing, only to seem them fail because of a quirk or unexpected error.

Of course, the odds were against them. Some Rube Goldberg videos require up to one hundred takes to reach perfection, even with professionals in charge. But the objective wasn’t success, but deep hands-on-learning to better understand what motivates a hero to keep trying, even after public setbacks.

Our Eagles certainly got a real taste of what it feels like to be a real Explorer, Inventor or Innovator. It’s very, very hard work.

Exhibitions and Eagles: “May I please do more work?”

March 23, 2014Communications, Culture, Excellence-Best You Can Do, Exhibition, Guides, Independent Learner, Quests, Rube Goldberg, Speechessandefer

This week our Eagles will host an exhibition, including each performing a “Four Minute Speech in the Shoes of a Scientific Hero” in front of a roomful of adults.

Recently several Eagles requested to change the speech criteria to “no less than four minutes and up to eight minutes.” Quite a few had done so much research that they wanted more time to tell their hero’s story.

So what did we do? After all, Guides don’t answer questions.

We decided to turn the organization of the entire exhibition to the Eagles. The only two constraints:

(1) The total time could not exceed one hour, out of respect for our guests, and

(2) Speeches will be judged on “value per minute,” to encourage conciseness.

Speak up. Get more responsibility. Just like the real world.

A Pitch Session

March 20, 2014Communications, Consequences, Core Skills, Critiques, Culture, Excellence-Best You Can Do, Feedback, Quests, Rube Goldberg, Speechessandefer

How do we decide whether the quality of an Eagle’s work is ready for an Exhibition?

Answer: the Eagle has to pitch to his or her studiomates, requesting a “green light” to proceed. This session’s Four Minute Speech; the 30 Second Video and Rube Goldberg device each required a separate pitch.

What follows a pitch? First, a warm/cool critique, offering affirmation and suggestions for improvement. Then, a vote.

What if the green light approval is denied? You go back to the drawing board, make improvements, and try again. That’s what heroes do when they fail: they get back up, dust themselves off, and get back to work.

The Cornucopia

March 17, 2014Consequences, Critiques, Culture, Quests, Rube Goldbergsandefer

How do we provide raw material for the Eagles’ Rube Goldberg machines?

First, we put out a call to all Eagle families, asking parents to clear their closets of unused toys and gadgets, and send them to campus..

Next we hold a Hunger Games Cornucopia – a competitive contest to see who can plan, search and secure the most important raw materials.

Here’s how it works:

Eagles rank each Scientific Creator research pitch.
The five highest ranked Eagles get the first two minutes at the Cornucopia, and can select whatever materials they need. The only rule: You must use anything you take. Any item bought from the Cornucopia afterwards will cost an Eagle Buck.
Repeat Step 2 until every Eagle has had a chance to graze at the Cornucopia.

Friendly competition. Dealing with scarce resources. Empty closets. Complex Rube Goldberg machines.

Everyone wins.

Sir Isacc Newton, as seen through a Rube Goldberg Machine

March 14, 2014Art, Hero Story, Hero's Journey, Quests, Rube Goldberg, Speechessandefer

How can an Eagle capture the ideas of a Scientific Creator in a Rube Goldberg machine?

Here’s a glimpse of one Eagle’s Scientific Hero, Isaac Newton. If you look closely, you’ll see that each step demonstrates one of Newton’s Three Laws of Motion, and ends with an apple dropping off the table.

Now imagine twenty four of these Rube Goldberg devices, lined up in a purposeful order, telling the story of Explorers of Ideas (like Newton), Inventors and Innovators; each triggering the next to begin.

A week from Thursday, we push the button and begin the journey.

What can I learn from Rube Goldberg?

March 6, 2014Art, Culture, Hero Story, Hero's Journey, Independent Learner, Quests, Rube Goldberg, Scientific Creators Inventors and Innovatorssandefer

Imagine this…. someone who knows nothing about Acton Academy wanders into the studio and notices all the students tinkering joyfully, building crazy-looking Rube Goldberg-like contraptions. The visitor is puzzled and possibly even indignant. “Looks like playtime to me,” she thinks. Aloud, she asks, “ Where is the value in this? Shouldn’t you be learning something? This is school, after all.”

Guides try to come up with challenges that hit the sweet spot where rigor intersects joy. The Rube Goldberg design-build project has many layers; “Games within games within games,” one Eagle noted. Not all elements are immediately visible to a random visitor, but most are easily teased out by asking a few good questions.

So, where is the value? According to the Eagles, the value lies in:

hands-on experimentation
letting their imaginations freely flow
nudging their creativity from “bud to blossom” (thank you, Anaya)
answering an open-ended question
working without instruction
problem solving
incorporating evidence of their biographical research into their designs
having FUN

When Eagles begin designing their own Quests from scratch, chances are very good they will do an even better job of hitting the right balance. They already do the best job of answering visitors’ questions!

Session Five: Creative Motivation and a Rube Goldberg Celebration

February 22, 2014Culture, Guides, Hero's Journey, Journey maps, Launches, Quests, Rube Goldberg, Scientific Creators Inventors and Innovatorssandefer

What inspired Einstein to imagine himself straddling a beam of light? Why did Edison toil night after night in his Menlo Park lab? What led Ford to pay the highest wages in the land?

For the next five weeks our Eagles will dig deeply into what motivated the creative geniuses who changed the world through ideas, inventions and innovations.

Then on Thursday, March 27th, each Eagle will stand before an audience and deliver a four minute “Hero’s Journey” speech as a famous Creator, exploring this year’s Overarching Question: “What motivates a hero?”

Once the speeches are finished, guests will be able to roam the studio and investigate twenty four different Rube Goldberg devices, each handmade by an Eagle to honor the contributions of their Creator, and each with a thirty second video introduction. (If you are interested in clearing your home of unused electricity and chemistry kits, just send them to the studio and we promise not to return them!)

Finally, after a suitable build up, the first Rube Goldberg contraption will be launched, leading to twenty four sequential celebrations of creation, as one Rube Goldberg device after another is triggered.

During the session we’ll continue to forge ahead on Khan and Learning Badges while engulfed in this frenzy of scientific and economic creation. And in Civilization, Eagles will watch college level DVD lectures on the Science of Innovation, followed each week by student designed and led Socratic Discussions.

Stay tuned for a lot of creative grit and sweat these next five weeks!

Our Hero's Journey

Acton Academy Middle School and Launchpad (High School)