Engineering team builds their way to the top

Samo Engineering Club takes the win in the Rube Goldberg CompetitionThe Non-GMO Chickens take home the win by successfully pouring a bowl of cerealHow a Creative Mind and a Pile of Junk can Earn You $1000 On Mar. 4, the Youth Engineering Club won first place in the 5th annual Rube Goldberg competition held at the STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) Machines Innovation Fair. The team within the Samo Engineering Club, the Non-GMO Chickens, won the grand prize of $1000, in addition to other recognitions, for successfully assembling a machine that poured a bowl of cereal. American cartoonist and Pulitzer recipient Rube Goldberg inspired the whole contest based on his particular cartoons illustrating just a simple task completed in the most efficient, particular and hilarious way possible. Named the Rube Goldberg machine, the teams are instructed to use everyday objects to build a contraption that will, in the end, complete the everyday task. The “everyday task” this year was to pour a bowl of cereal, with past contests featuring opening an umbrella or applying a bandage.  Along with incorporating the various elements into STEAM, students of all ages tell a story with their complex and ridiculous machines they have imagined. The competition not only provides a fresh and unique atmosphere for learning, but it also encourages students to formulate out-of-the-box problem solving skills, cultivating the inspiring innovators of tomorrow. Both Kimi Holsapple (’18) and Ryan Tenerowicz (’18) are current members of the Engineering Club. “The Rube Goldberg spirit is supposed to be quirky, eccentric, having these nuances that make people laugh,” Holsapple said. The competition had five schools/teams completing and were judged from some of the top high-tech astronomical companies, including SpaceX, JPL and Two Bit Circus.  “They judged based on creativity, teamwork, design and functionality. Our task was to pour a bowl of cereal, and we were only allowed a maximum of 75 steps. A lot of teams had only 20-30 steps, so using the maximum amount of steps and making it complicated really helped us win,” Tenerowicz said.  Tenerowicz explains how his experience during the competition was nerve-wracking. When the Non-GMO Chickens arrived there, some parts of their machine fell off, causing the whole team to scramble trying to fix it before the judge appeared.  “It didn't run perfectly, but we managed to put down some last-minute hot glue down. And it worked out in the end and we won first place which was pretty nice. We didn’t really buy any of the materials besides to make the board, to put the machine on. Everything else basically like scraps from Kimi’s dad’s studio,” Tenerowicz said.  Winning finals for Division 2, Samo earned their name at the top and secured a spot for nationals in Chicago on Apr. 21. They hope to use this prize money for their trip to Illinois where all the best engineering teams will gather to compete.