SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) — “Outlandish machines” designed by area fifth graders will be on display as Lincoln Land Community College hosts the 16th annual Springfield Area Fifth Grade Rube Goldberg Competition on Saturday, Feb. 25.
The free event will take place at LLCC-Springfield's student union from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
This year, students must "move a rocket to a launch pad" through at least ten different steps.
According to LLCC, a Rube Goldberg device, such as the board game “Mousetrap,” is an elaborate apparatus designed to complete a certain task through a number of complex steps. The purpose of the event is to encourage the pursuit of engineering and related fields.
Fifth graders are currently developing their projects for the competition with assistance from engineer volunteers.
Eleven teams are participating from area schools including: Dubois Elementary, Graham Elementary, Our Savior Lutheran, Rochester Intermediate, Springfield Christian and Beckemeyer Elementary School in Hillsboro.
Last year’s task entailed building a Rube Goldberg that would “flip a pancake.” Kimberly Tribler’s fifth grade class from Dubois Elementary School, with engineer volunteer Terry Fountain from Cummins Engineering, took home the top prize and advanced to the Engineering Open House at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign where they earned first place.
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