STEM Engineering Meets Creativity!

Get your students building, problem-solving, and thinking like real engineers with the Maximum Work Rube Goldberg Machine Project. This engaging activity challenges students to design, build, and present a multi-step Rube Goldberg machine while exploring work, force, power, and simple machines in action.

Students will take on engineering team roles—Lead Engineer, Research Engineer, Design Engineer, and Construction Engineer—as they brainstorm, sketch, and test a machine that uses levers, pulleys, and inclined planes to achieve one final task. The structured worksheets guide them through research, concept sketching, brainstorming, design, data collection, and technical reporting, making this project perfect for STEM classrooms, engineering pathways, and project-based learning.

What’s Inside:

• Scenario-based challenge to hook student interest
• Research, Brainstorming, and Concept Sketch Worksheets
• Assessment of Ideas & Data Collection Sheets
• Design Worksheets with step-by-step planning
• Final Technical Report & Presentation Guide
• Built-in criteria & constraints to model the engineering design process
• Opportunities to calculate mechanical advantage and apply physics concepts
  

Perfect For:

• High School STEM & Engineering Classes
• Project-Based Learning (PBL) Units
• Team-Building & Collaboration Activities
• Exploring Simple & Compound Machines
• End-of-Unit Engineering Design Challenges
  

✨ Why Teachers Love It:

• Promotes hands-on, inquiry-based learning
• Covers STEM standards with a fun, creative twist
• Easy-to-follow format keeps students accountable
• Encourages teamwork, critical thinking, and problem-solving
• Printable and ready to use—just add student creativity!
  

Why You’ll Love This Resource ❤️

✅ Engagement Boost – Students love the fun, over-the-top style of Rube Goldberg machines.
✅ STEM Standards Aligned – Built around concepts of work, force, and machines.
✅ Collaboration Ready – Assigns clear student roles for team success.
✅ Low Prep, High Impact – Worksheets and guides keep everything structured.
✅ Future-Ready Skills – Builds engineering design thinking, creativity, and technical communication.

Transform your classroom into an engineering lab where students don’t just learn about machines—they design and build them!