(December 20, 2013) Riverhead High School held its fourth annual Rube Goldberg competition Friday morning before the holiday break. The goal of this year's projects was to zip up a zipper as the final act in a process that involved at least 20 steps.
The projects are judged on a 100 point system according to national Rube Goldberg judging standards, which include factors such as the complexity of the project, the use of recognizable, everyday items in a creative, unique, or funny way, the visual and physical ingenuity of the contraption, and whether or not it actually works. The competitors include teams from the 9th grade Smart Physics classes and the Regents level AP classes. There is no category for best lighting, best t-shirts, most complicated, really clever, nicely presented, holiday theme, but check out the photos above to see the exhibits that stood out in each of these categories. The winners have the added feature of being able to zip the zipper. |
“The wow factor is as almost as important as anything else,” said physics teacher Greg Wallace, who coordinates the competition along with fellow teachers Brian Cunningham and Kim Skinner. "It's a lot of fun, we've been looking forward to it all year."
The four teams that will be participating in the regional competition are:
These teams will go on to compete on February 8, 2014 in the year in Garden City’s Cradle of Aviation Museum, where a win would qualify the team to compete in a national competition in Detroit. RHS has placed second and/or third at this competition for two years running. CLICK HERE TO WATCH GOTHAM CITY IN ACTION ON YOUTUBE as Batman zips down a line to put the Joker "behind bars" and zip the zipper to complete the task. (YouTube video by RiverheadLocal.) |