As students are settling into their new routines at school, it’s the perfect time to start thinking about how to enrich their current curriculum and add a little fun to keep them motivated. Academic competitions offer students the ideal setting to work independently and build real-life skills, all while doing something that interests them.
All academic competitions have their own unique advantages, but for 2021 the new Digital Rube Goldberg Machine Minecraft Contest is one students are sure to love.
How is the Digital Rube Goldberg Machine Minecraft Contest different?
This collaboration between Rube Goldberg Inc. and Minecraft allows students to learn new skills while playing a game they already love. During this competition, students will participate in weekly tutorials. In these tutorials, teams will learn from the best in the industry how to build simple machines that actually work.
The hands-on nature of these by-weekly lessons leaves most kids looking forward to learning more. At the end of the six courses, students will link their simple machines to make one big machine that leads to a fun and engaging chain reaction.
Once students have tinkered with their chain reaction to perfection, they submit their masterpiece to the digital contest.
What will students learn from the Goldberg Machine Minecraft Contest?
Hands-on-skills- This competition offers students a unique opportunity to take something created in the digital world and use their own ingenuity to build a model. This is a skill that will serve them well throughout school and into adulthood.
The power of their imagination- Because Rube Goldberg and Minecraft are imagination-based, this academic competition gives students the ultimate freedom to dream big and build even bigger.
Participants are encouraged to think outside-the-box and elaborate on the tutorials given to make their finished project a personalized work of art.
Hands-on application of STEM – Building a model looks like fun and games on the surface, but the beauty of this contest is that it will also require students to learn and practice math, chemistry, and physics skills.
Even better, because students are using these concepts in a real-life way, they are more likely to retain the information they learn, putting them ahead when using this knowledge in school and life.
Teamwork- The ability to work with others is essential for success in life. However, collaboration is a skill that can be hard to learn in a classroom setting. Academic competitions like the Rube Goldberg Minecraft contest are the perfect place to teach kids the complex skills involved in teamwork like leadership, compromise, listening, and trust.
The importance of small, consistent action – The entire Rube Goldberg Minecraft competition is structured around the idea of building small pieces of a larger puzzle. Students will work one piece at a time until the end, when they have six individual projects that will come together as one.
While this concept may be a bit abstract, it is very important for students to understand as they grow into college and adulthood. Often, as adults, we tackle large challenges like getting a dream job or buying a house.
Much like a Rube Goldberg Machine, these milestones require small and consistent actions towards a concrete outcome. This idea is made clear when students see the impact of their hard work on small pieces building into a final project, they can be proud to present to the world.
How does the Rube Goldberg Minecraft Contest work?
The 2021 Digital Rube Goldberg Machine Minecraft Contest will start with a preseason to prepare students for the competition. During this time, students’ teams will complete six mini-building challenges within the Rube Goldberg Minecraft digital world.
After machines are designed, teams will submit their simple machines via Flipgrid so all participants can see the innovations and creativity of one another.
As mentioned above, there are six mini-challenges teams will be guided through; these challenges are:
- Building an inclined plane.
- Building a pulley system.
- Designing a screw system.
- Learning how to create a machine wedge in the Minecraft Stream.
- Learning how to create a machine wheel and axle.
- Finally, how to make a lever in the Minecraft Stream.
These mini-challenges are all stand-alone projects that, when completed, come together to form one big Rube Goldberg Machine.
As you can see, the Rub Goldberg Machine Minecraft contest is a fun, educational, and hands-on experience teachers, students, and their parents will love.
The preseason has already begun, so don’t wait! Register for the Rube Goldberg Machine Minecraft Contest today.
If you aren’t used to Minecraft, and like a more tangible, hands-on Rube Goldberg Experience, don’t miss the 2020-21 Rube Goldberg Machine Contest either!
If your ready to have fun and learn new skills along the way, head to our competitions page to see what academic competitions are coming up. Set up your account to follow competitions that excite you and stay up-to-date on all the news with academic competitions.
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