Batesville HS, St. Louis Catholic School Take First Place At Rube Goldberg Machine Contest

Batesville Middle School, South Ripley Junior High, and the Ripley County Engineering Academy were among the standout performers.

Batesville Middle School went home with the coveted Mama Genesis Award. Photo provided. 

(Osgood, Ind.) - The 10th Annual Rube Goldberg Machine Contest (RGMC), hosted by Genesis: Pathways to Success and Jac-Cen-Del Community School Corporation, was held on Saturday, April 10, 2021, at Jac-Cen-Del High School. This year’s event was limited to Ripley County teams, and a live stream of the event for those unable to attend in person was provided by Jac-Cen-Del High School.

Teams participating in the contest were Batesville Middle School, South Ripley Junior High School, St. Louis Catholic School, Batesville High School, and the Ripley County Engineering Academy. Their clever contraptions amazed and inspired the contest officials with humorous stories and themes fully integrated into the crazy chain-reaction machines designed to “Shake and Pour a Box of Nerds.”

First place in the middle school division went to St. Louis Catholic School and was followed by Batesville Middle School in second place. Batesville Middle School went home with the coveted Mama Genesis Award, and South Ripley Junior High School was granted the NERDS Award. Batesville High School captured first place in the high school division, and the Ripley County Engineering Academy placed second in a very tight race. The Ripley County Engineering Academy was also presented with the Judges Award.

“I am more inspired this year than ever with these teams,” said Cheryll Obendorf, volunteer Event Coordinator and former Genesis Director. “Everyone in Ripley County should be extremely proud of these students and their coaches. They persevered through a pandemic in order to get to this day and to this event. Their ingenuity, engineering skills, teamwork, and spirit are evident and should give us all hope for the future.”

The results from this year’s local contest did not have an impact on the national contest finals. This year, the national Rube Goldberg Machine Contest was held virtually, with teams entering through video submissions. Finals were held on April 10, 2021, on the Rube Goldberg website. Two Ripley County teams, St. Louis School and Batesville High School, were included in the People’s Choice vote for Finals.

Sponsors for this year’s Ripley County Rube Goldberg Machine Contest were Great Plains Communications, Friendship State Bank, Napoleon State Bank, Chozen Designs, Proud Moments Engraving, Obendorf Inc. / A to Z Music, and the Ripley County Community Foundation.

If you are interested in learning more information about the Rube Goldberg Machine Contest, please contact Clarice Patterson by emailing at cpatterson@genesisp2s.org, calling 812-933-1098, or stopping by the office at 13 E. George Street, Suite B, Batesville, IN, 47006.