Rube Goldberg Camp
- JeeEun Jang
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
Updated: 1 day ago
Rube Goldberg Camp, 2025
Role: Executive Program Director 기획 및 운영 총괄 책임자
Client: The Rube Goldberg Institute 미국 골드버그 재단
Place: EBS, EVERLAND, SHINSEGAE Academy, Goyang Children's Museum
Collaborator: EBS, Samsung C&T Corporation, SHINSEGAE ACADEMY, Goyang Children's Museum, Hyundai Oilbank
Rube Goldberg Camp
The Rube Goldberg Camp Program is an all-in-one educational service designed to fully support participants in every stage of their project. The program offers comprehensive education on the scientific principles of Rube Goldberg machines, hands-on instruction in machine design and construction, and support for video shooting and editing. Furthermore, the service extends to providing essential support for participation in the World Rube Goldberg Machine Contest.
What is a Rube Goldberg Machine?
Rube Goldberg Machine refers to a mechanical device that looks complex and elaborate, but actually performs a very simple task (e.g., pulling a tissue, rolling a ball). It is frequently used in educational programs to cultivate creativity and engineering thinking.
Operation Record
2026. SHINSEGAE Academy (1-Day Camp)
2025. EBS Summer Camp (3-Day Camp)
2025. Hyundai Oilbank (1-Day Camp)
2025. Goyang Children's Museum Summer Camp (3-Day Camp)
2024. Samsung, EVERLAND Summer Camp (3-Day Camp)
2024. Hyundai Oilbank (1-Day Camp)
2024. Hangzhou Wanxiang Polytechnic (5-Day Camp)
2024. Samsung, EVERLAND Winter Camp (3-Day Camp)
2023. Hyundai Oilbank (1-Day Camp)
Program Overview
Orientation Sample Video
Recruitment Video
Tinkering Space
A "shopping-style" material station allows students to explore and select their own resources, fostering self-directed project design. Open access to shared tools encourages collaboration and allows students to naturally experience the process of trial and error.
Team Building Activities
Collaborative Engineering Challenges: We designed hands-on engineering activities at the beginning of the program to build rapport and teamwork among participants. Through missions like constructing the tallest tower or the strongest bridge within set time and material constraints, children experience intense focus on a shared goal, fostering cooperation and friendly competition. This initial period is highly effective at enthusiastically engaging participants in the program.
Simple Machines
Simple Machines are fundamental devices that change the direction or magnitude of a force to make work easier. Complex machines, such as the Rube Goldberg Machine, are built by combining the six simple machines. Before planning their complex projects, children first spent time learning and building these basic devices. This fostered a practical understanding of scientific principles and the concept of Mechanical Advantage, which is foundational to complex problem-solving.
Storytelling-Based Design
Storytelling-Based Design is an activity where teams creatively express and present the theme and composition of their Rube Goldberg machine on a planning board. This process solidifies ideas and strengthens collaborative thinking and storytelling competency.
Team Project
Teams creatively construct a large Rube Goldberg machine using recycled materials, featuring 20+ chain reactions. The activity strengthens collaborative building skills by assigning individual responsibility for sections and implementing a three-dimensional structure.
Documentation
Watch the sample video
Teams present the story and structure of their completed Rube Goldberg machine on camera, choosing their preferred language (Korean or English). Record a video demonstrating the machine's operation, thereby documenting the final result as a visual record.
Project Showcase & Closing Reception
The event is a celebratory closing reception inviting families to view the final projects/Rube Goldberg machines and celebrate the participants' achievements.
Workshop
I participated in every workshop during the program launch, identifying areas for improvement, making revisions, and refining the program.
Educational Material Development
I developed comprehensive educational materials,
including Simple Machine Card, Machine Planning Board, student learning kits,
teacher guides, lesson plans, and project overviews.
3D Structure Development
Rube Goldberg Machine Frame
The focus of this development project is to create a cuboidal 3D frame using PVC pipes (50cm and 100cm) and connecting joints, which provides the foundational structure for students to build a Rube Goldberg Machine. This kit allows student teams to autonomously adjust the frame's size (e.g., Small 50cm3, Medium 100cm3, Large 150cm3) to fit the duration of their camp (one-day, 3-day/4-night, one week), with the maximum size designed to comply with the International Rube Goldberg Machine Contest specifications. After assembly, walls will be constructed within the space to create a contained working area.
