Rube Goldberg Contest Returns to JCD Elementary March 4

Teams will "Build a Lunchables".

(Osgood, Ind.) - Genesis Pathways to Success and the Jac-Cen-Del Community School Corporation are pleased to announce the 12th Annual Regional Rube Goldberg Machine Contest is on Saturday, March 4 at Jac-Cen-Del Elementary School in Osgood, Indiana. The public is warmly invited to attend this family-friendly competition.

A Rube Goldberg Machine Contest is an event where students of all ages compete to imagine, design, and create complicated machines in a fun and competitive forum. Machines are constructed from a variety of found or discarded items. This year’s Rube Goldberg machines are challenged to “Build a Lunchables” with a minimum of 15 steps (Division I), a minimum of 20 steps (Division II), and a maximum of 75 steps in each Division. These clever contraptions promise to amaze and inspire kids of all ages!

The schools competing in this year’s Division I (Middle School) Rube Goldberg Machine Contest include Batesville Middle School, Jac-Cen-Del Elementary School, Salem Middle School, and St. Louis Catholic School. Division II (High School) competitors are Batesville High School, Oldenburg Academy, and the Ripley County Engineering Academy (Jac-Cen-Del High School).

“The amount of time and effort that these students put forth into creating these inventive machines demonstrates each team’s creativity and ingenuity as they collaborate to overcome the challenge that is presented to them with this year’s competition,” said Clarice Patterson, the Director of Genesis: Pathways to Success. Patterson further stated, “The challenge to Build a Lunchables asked the teams to think outside of the box since there isn’t just one way to build a Lunchables, and with a task that has such a broad definition, students were put to the test to make something truly innovative as well as entertaining.”

Doors open to the public at 10:00 a.m. and the first machine run will begin at 10:30 a.m. The contest is free to attend thanks to the generosity of many local sponsors.

Sponsors for the Rube Goldberg Machine Contest include SEI REMC Operation Round-Up as a Goldbergian Sponsor and Batesville Tool & Die, Kids Discovery Factory, and Proud Moments Engraving as Contraption Sponsors. Kids Discovery Factory will be on-site with their mobile STEAM factory, which offers younger students the opportunity to experience STEAM learning with hands-on exploration and discovery. Chain Reaction Sponsors for the event are Friendship State Bank, Great Plains Communications, Napoleon State Bank, and the Ripley County Community Foundation.

To learn more information about this year’s upcoming 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.