Rube-A-Thon
The first annual Rube-a-Thon was held on October 6, 2023, at Columbia Gorge Community College. This regional event brought together 21 teams of 7th graders -120 students - from Oregon and Washington, including Hood River, Wasco, Klickitat, and Skamania counties.
A Rube-a-Thon is a team competition that celebrates creative problem solving through the design and construction of a Rube Goldberg machine - a contraption built from everyday items that completes a simple task like watering a plant or cracking an egg!
This year's challenge was "Put Toothpaste on a Toothbrush." Participating teams were tasked with building a contraption to achieve this goal and then presented their machines to a panel of judges.
Six different teams were recognized in the following categories:
-
Most Complex Contraption (Scary Kitties, Hood River New School)
-
Most Creative Use of Materials (Bean Burritos, Wind River & The Tinkerbells, Glenwood School)
-
Most Humorous Contraption (The Eagles, Wy’east Middle School)
-
Most Innovative Chain Reaction (Awesome Avocados, The Dalles Middle School)
-
Team Spirit Award (Fruity Patooties, Wind River Middle School)
Next Year's Rube-a-Thon - October 2024!
Check back for more details!
Questions?
Contact Kate Wurster: kwurster@cgesd.k12.or.us or 541-656-7492
Thank you to the educators, industry and community volunteers including Catherine Loke and Charlotte Chapman (Insitu), Jack Perrin (Gorge Makerspace), Christy Christopher (Columbia Gorge ESD), Rosa Grabos (Amazon), Greg Paul (community member), and CGCC staff Dylan McManus and Kylie Brunton, who made this event possible.