In February, UConn’s Engineering Ambassadors hosted eight high school teams from across Connecticut in a unique Rube Goldberg Machine Contest named after the late cartoonist Reuben Lucius Goldberg, who gained fame for his wacky illustrations of machines, designed in the most convoluted ways possible and intended to carry out simple tasks. 

The contest at UConn was one of hundreds staged across the country. 

The 2013 theme was “Hammer a Nail,” and contestants were challenged to build a machine measuring 6’ x 6’ x 6’ or less and that carries out the function of hammering a nail in 20 steps or more. The teams, Ambassadors and onlookers enjoyed the combination of creative rigor and technical challenge entailed in the competition.

The first place finisher, the Staples High School Applied Science Club, Westport, CT, will compete in the national event.  Second place was awarded to the Junkyard Gaels Team #2 from Shelton High School, Shelton, CT; and third place was presented to a team from Ella T. Grasso Southeastern Technical High School in Groton, CT.

Please view photos here.