How it all began...In an effort to teach the concept of perseverance, I showed my class a Youtube video of a kid their age who built his

own Rube Goldberg Machine. Immediately, hands shot up, “Can WE make one?!” For the next month, my entire classroom turned into a giant Rube Goldberg Machine workshop.

Expanding the project through the Teacher Innovation Grant...During this first year, I tried my best to teach basic physics and engineering concepts, but found that the explanations weren’t fully grasped by most students. So, I reached out to the Teacher Innovation Grant in order to purchase 15 sets

of six different Engino Mechanical Science kits, which teach physics concepts through hands-on play.

The results…My students learned more through these kids than I could have ever taught them through direct instruction. Students

built, failed, persevered, learned, and grew as a result of this experience. After weeks of engineering through the Engino kits, the students of D-5 were ready to build their own Rube Goldberg Machines! Nothing could make me happier than

hearing the transfer of knowledge through gleeful shouts from around the room... “Look! It’s a class two lever! See? Effort, load, fulcrum!”

Leah Murray, 4th Grade TeacherFarallone View Elementary, Montara, CA

2015-2016

S.T.E.M. Project: Rube Goldberg Machines

Special thanks, on behalf of past, present, and future D-5 students, to the San Mateo County Math and Science Teacher InnovationGrant, the County of San Mateo Board of Supervisors, and Dr. Josephine Yu, for making this incredible project a reality!