Skip to main content

The Rube Goldberg Machine Contest®

Nationals will be held April 6 at the Purdue University Armory! Come in person or watch the live stream.

Nationals Information

Saturday, April 6, 2024
Location:
Purdue Armory: 812 3rd Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907
Parking: FREE (University Street Parking Garage, 201 N. University St, West Lafayette, IN 47907)
Admission: FREE

The event will also be live streamed on the Zach's Contraptions YouTube Channel

Good luck to the National's Qualifying Teams!

Apprentice Division

  • ACES Technical Charter School
  • Open Door Christian School - Smarties
  • The Race to ToothPaste / Peter Woodbury School
  • The Will Clamper / Peter Woodbury School
  • The Tooth Master / Peter Woodbury School
  • Speed Brush / Peter Woodbury School
  • Plaque Preventer Paste Pincher / Hooksett Elementary
  • ToothPaster 6000 / Memorial Elementary School
  • Oxford Preparatory Academy

Division I

  • Batesville Middle School
  • St. Louis Catholic School
  • Fairy’s Misfortune / Wonderland
  • Silver Lake Eagles
  • Gamer Grams / Mineola
  • Sports on Set / Mineola
  • Minions / Mineola
  • Sweet Tooth / World Academy
  • Five Days / Homeschooled
  • Our Lady of Lourdes

Division II

  • Jac-Cen-Del Jr./Sr. High School
  • Batesville High School
  • Chatfield High School
  • Casey-Westfield Jr/Sr High School
  • Herricks High School Rube Goldberg Club
  • Synergy
  • Time Machine - Guangdong, China
  • Rubenheimer / Fieldston Sophomores
  • Fieldston Juniors
  • Oldenburg Academy
  • Anderson High School

Division III

  • (Purdue) Boilermaker Rube Goldberg Team
  • University of Illinois Urbana RG Society
  • Rube Goldberg at the University of Arizona

About the Contest

A Rube Goldberg Machine® is made from found or discarded household items. RGMs come from landfill, rather than contributing to them. The Institute is proud to offer the only STEM competition in the world that requires zero cost to build and participate. Anyone, anywhere, with nothing more than a pile of junk and a great imagination can build an award-winning Rube Goldberg Machine®.

  • All ages
  • Compete at a live regional as a team
  • All machines must complete the annual task
  • Judged by a panel of Rube Goldberg experts
  • Prizes TBA

View the 2024 rule books here!

To learn more about how the judging works, watch this video.

Live Q&A Sessions

Have questions about the Rube Goldberg Machine Contest? Join these live Q&A sessions on YouTube @ Zach's Contraptions! These sessions are hosted by Zach Umperovitch, the National Contest Director for Rube Goldberg Inc. on the first Wednesday of every month.

All live streams start at 7:00 pm EST on Zach's Contraptions YouTube channel.

Q&A #1 - Rulebook Walkthrough & Clarification

Q&A #2 - Rules, Criteria, & Tips

Q&A # 3- Tips & Tricks for Building Rube Goldberg Machines

Q&A #4 - Solving the Annual Task (Creatively)

Q&A #5 - How Judging Works

Q&A #6 - National Contest Logistics

Q&A #7 - April 3, 2024 @7pm (EST)

RGMC Online

Don't have a way to travel to 2024 Nationals at Purdue University? We have a separate online competition for anyone worldwide! With fewer restrictions, use your creativity to create, film, and submit your Rube Goldberg Machine. Click here for more info.