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Engineering activity

Rube Goldberg Chain Reaction

Set up a simple chain reaction: knock over dominoes that hit a ball that rolls down a ramp into a cup. Three steps of cause and effect!

BuildingAbout 30 minutesScreen-freeParent help expected

Materials and setup

How this changes by age

Pre-K (ages 3–4)

Set up a simple chain reaction: knock over dominoes that hit a ball that rolls down a ramp into a cup. Three steps of cause and effect!

Difficulty 1 of 3

Steps

  1. Line up 5-10 blocks or books like dominoes.
  2. At the end of the line, place a ball that the last domino will hit.
  3. Set up a cardboard ramp for the ball to roll down into a cup at the bottom.
  4. Push the first domino. Does the chain reaction work all the way to the cup?
  5. If a step fails, figure out what went wrong and adjust it.
  6. Tell a grown-up one thing that surprised you.

Learning objectives

  • Understand chain reactions: one action causes the next
  • Practice setting up precise alignments
  • Develop patience and persistence with multi-step setups

Kindergarten (ages 5–6)

Build a chain reaction machine with at least 5 steps. Each step triggers the next until a final fun action happens (bell rings, flag pops up, ball lands in cup).

Difficulty 2 of 3

Steps

  1. Plan your chain reaction: draw each step showing what hits or triggers what.
  2. Step ideas: dominoes, rolling ball, ramp, lever (ruler on a pencil), falling books.
  3. Build each step one at a time, testing as you go.
  4. Connect all steps together. The last step should do something fun!
  5. Run the whole chain. If a step fails, adjust just that part.
  6. Count your steps. Can you add one more?
  7. Tell a grown-up one thing that surprised you.

Learning objectives

  • Plan and build a multi-step sequential machine
  • Understand energy transfer from one object to another
  • Debug and fix individual steps in a chain without starting over

Early elementary (ages 6–8)

Engineer a Rube Goldberg machine with at least 8 steps that includes three types of energy transfer. Document each step with diagrams.

Difficulty 2 of 3

Steps

  1. Research Rube Goldberg machines. Plan at least 8 steps including: rolling, falling, swinging, and lever action.
  2. Diagram each step showing the energy type: potential, kinetic, elastic, or gravitational.
  3. Build the machine step by step. Test each connection before adding the next.
  4. Required elements: at least 1 lever, 1 ramp, 1 falling object, and 1 rolling object.
  5. Run the complete machine 5 times. Record how many steps completed each run.
  6. Calculate your reliability rate: successful full runs / total attempts.
  7. In one sentence, tell a parent or sibling what surprised you today.

Learning objectives

  • Identify different types of energy transfer in a mechanical chain reaction
  • Engineer reliable connections between sequential mechanical steps
  • Calculate and improve system reliability through iterative testing

Upper elementary (ages 8–10)

Design an elaborate Rube Goldberg machine with 12+ steps incorporating at least 4 types of simple machines and 5 energy conversions. Map the complete energy flow.

Difficulty 3 of 3

Steps

  1. Research the 6 simple machines: lever, pulley, wheel and axle, inclined plane, wedge, screw.
  2. Design a 12+ step machine incorporating at least 4 different simple machines.
  3. Create an energy flow diagram: label each transfer (gravitational to kinetic, kinetic to elastic, etc.).
  4. Build in sections, testing each section independently before connecting.
  5. Include at least one delayed reaction (something that takes more than 2 seconds between steps).
  6. Film the final run. Time each section and calculate total machine run time.
  7. Write a technical report mapping every energy conversion and simple machine used.
  8. In one sentence, tell a parent or sibling what surprised you today.

Learning objectives

  • Incorporate multiple simple machines into a complex mechanical system
  • Map complete energy conversion chains through a multi-step process
  • Apply systematic testing and debugging to improve complex system reliability

Safety and evidence note

Read the full activity before beginning. An adult should supervise tools, heat, food, outdoor work, movement, and experiments as appropriate. Completion records that the activity was done; the child’s explanation, work sample, photo, or demonstration is stronger evidence of learning than a completion check alone.

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