Our funding supported the Heritage 4th grade Rube Goldberg design competition held on May 24, 2024, as a culminating project for the science unit on Energy Collisions & Conversions. This hands-on, collaborative project engaged students in using the Engineering Design Process to design and build Rube Goldberg devices meeting specific criteria. For example, students tackled challenges such as guiding a marble into a cup 10 feet away using pathways containing a loop, a hill, and two Hot Wheels track pieces.
The project directly addressed five Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), the core framework for science instruction in SAS. Through this initiative, students applied their knowledge from the Mystery Science curriculum to solve real-world problems, designed and refined their devices, and communicated their processes and results to community judges. This experience fostered critical thinking, creativity, teamwork, and communication skills, all vital for success in today’s world.
By participating in this competition, every student had the opportunity to demonstrate their understanding of energy transformations and engineering principles, showcasing their learning in an engaging and meaningful way. This grant empowered students to connect their classroom knowledge to practical applications while gaining valuable feedback from the broader community.
