Author Archives: gsmajlaj25

Rube Goldberg Post #6

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TESTS

I’m so excited that now I have completed the building phase of my Rube Goldberg. The next step in our project is to begin to test our machine several times until it works. At first, I thought either building or testing would be my favorite part. Although, building was pretty fun.

PREDICTIONS

Overall, my Rube Goldberg isn’t too complex. I wonder how many tests it’s going to take? Hmmm. Maybe 15-20? Well, I’ll have to see.

TESTING

Now I have finished my tests! Testing took like forty five minutes for me. I thought testing was kind of stressful because every time it failed, you had to set the whole machine up agin. Plus, some parts of my machine would just not hold, so if I went past it to fix the dominoes, you would have to be very careful because sometimes it would fall. This part was towards the end of my machine, which was good because if it was in the beginning it would knock the whole thing down. My machine succeeded on the 31st test. A little off of what I had predicted.

OVERALL REFLECTION

Now I have completed my Rube Goldberg!! I think the idea of a Rube Goldberg is amazing and is super fun. Although, there can be many challenges, and sometimes it can cause frustration. This is what we had to do complete our assignment :

  1. Decide who you want to work with or decide to work alone
  2. Create a sketch
  3. Build
  4. Test (and take a video while testing)
  5. Write about your Rube Goldberg

For me, I think testing was the hardest. My favorite step was either to create a sketch because I like to draw, or to build because I really liked working with the materials and putting them together. Overall, this project was really fun, and I hope one day I can do it again.

VIDEOS

Here are some videos that helped me out, inspired me, and gave me some ideas:

 

Rube Goldberg Post #5

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Running Into A Small Problem

As I continued to build, I realized I had a small problem. The problem was, before I started building, I painted a long piece of paper that would fit the table I was working on. I did this to make my Rube Goldberg more decorative. But, the problem was, the next morning (the day after the paper dried) the ends were all rolled up and the paper was bumpy. I needed to put dominoes on the paper, but it didn’t work because of the paper being bumpy and the dominoes being so small. Every time I tried to put dominoes on they fell. I tried several times, it just didn’t work. At this point I was getting really frustrated. I needed to come up with a solution.

Coming Up With A Solution

I had come up with a solution. I didn’t exactly like this solution, but I had to do it in order to build my Rube Goldberg. The solution was to take off the piece of paper. I did this so the dominoes wouldn’t keep falling.

Working With A Solution

After I removed the paper, I tried putting the dominoes back together again. It worked! Yay!!! Now I could complete the process of building, and finally begin my tests!

Rube Goldberg Post #4

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Beginning To Build

Now that I have completed my sketch, gathered materials, and got the idea of what a Rube Goldberg is, I will begin to build. Building shouldn’t be too hard since you already know what you are doing.

One week ago, I started to build. So far I have completed almost all of my steps, except for two or three. I was right, building isn’t that difficult. All you have to do is put your sketch together.

The materials I have used so far are :

  • Dominoes
  • An old doll bed
  • A bridge (kind of like a ramp)
  • Marbles
  • A bouncy ball
  • Marble Run
  • Jenga  blocks

I will complete the next few steps very quickly. After, I can begin to test my Rube Goldberg!!!

 

Rube Goldberg Post #3

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Gathering Materials

This week, I will start building, which means I will start gathering materials. For my Rube Goldberg machine I’m going to be using materials such as, dominos, bouncy balls, wood, cardboard, books, lensless glasses, tennis balls, etc. Some of these materials I made, some of them were old toys, and some of them I use for activities. While building, there is a good chance that I will not follow my plan exactly, so I might add or eliminate steps depending on how the building process goes. While looking for materials for your Rube Goldberg, I suggest checking your garage, basement etc. You never know what you can find! I also suggest looking through some of your old toys. The next step to my Rube Goldberg is building!! Yay!!!

 

 

Rube Goldberg Post #2

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Sketch

Once I got the idea of what a Rube Goldberg was, the next step was to make a sketch. I had a couple ideas for a Rube Goldberg, so this part wasn’t so difficult. Our Rube Goldberg had to be six steps. After looking at a bunch of videos online, I saw many different steps, which helped me a lot for more steps. I decided to have over six steps. Since I had tons of ideas, my sketch took me about twenty minutes. After I made my sketch, I had to look it over again. I saw one thing that wasn’t going to work so well, so I decided to take it out. Then, my sketch was better. My next step is to start gathering materials.

Rube Goldberg Post #1

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Just Getting Started

At the beginning of the year, I barely knew what a Rube Goldberg was, until my teacher introduced the class. A Rube Goldberg is basically a machine you build to help you complete a simple task. When I got the idea I thought it was amazing and so cool! I was so excited to get started. I looked up videos online to get some ideas. Quickly, I sprouted ideas. I’m so excited to get started on building!!!

Rocketry Reflection

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In this rocketry process, I learned that while building you want to try to make your rocket as light as possible, in order for you to make it go higher. During designing, I learned that you need to have a lot of materials. During launching, I learned that your rocket might not go the way you wanted it to go at first, because you clearly have no experience. You might be last on your first launch, but first on your last launch.

Having three launches impacts the successes and failures of each rocket because after each launch you learn something new. This leads you to improving. While I was working with the group, I allowed everyone to include their ideas. I made sure every slide was consistant and that I completed all my slides in time.

 

I also learned that working in a group, with other people is good for creating a rocket. I think this because if your struggling there are other people in the group to help you come up with an idea. Although, there is some arguing along the way, the rocket turns out to be amazing.

 

Booing

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It all started on a usual  Monday morning, 9:00 a.m, Heathcote school. The doors burst open. “Did you get booed?” Did you get booed?” Everyone asked each other one by one curiously.  Did you get booed? Do you know what booing is? Well, booing is when someone rings your doorbell, leaves a piece (s) of candy at your doorstep, and runs off! People do it as a tradition every year, starting a few weeks before Halloween.

At 8:35 a.m the bell rang. The doors burst open once again. A whole group of kids walked in. “What are you talking about?” “You got booed?” “Who booed you?” “Are you sure it was her?”

“It’s fun to get booed because you get lots of candy!” says Naomi Fischer. “I think it’s mysteries, fun, and it takes you be surprise when someone rings your doorbell and you see nobody there,” says Jordan Knispel. “I like booing. It’s really fun and cool because you get candy,” according to Sam Smith. “It’s fun to be booed, and it’s fun to boo your friends,” Sarina Metha says. “I think booing is really fun overall. Although if you are a new kid it might be sad because,  you might not get booed.”

Have you been booed? Well, you better be prepared…

 

A BIRD In The GYM!!!

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It was a casual, rainy Thursday morning, 9:05 a.m. Somehow a bird managed to find its way into the Heathcote gym. At the time kindergartners were in the gym going wild. What will we do next? How will we get the bird out? This is chaos, here in the Heathcote gym! Teachers don’t know what to do! Kindergarteners are screaming, crying, running around going crazy. How will we get this bird out? What will we have to do?