Freshmen students in the College of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Colorado at Boulder are setting a new standard for zaniness -- and they may even set a world record -- by linking together a variety of devices they built for this semester's "Rube Goldberg" class design project.
The devices are elaborate contraptions built to perform simple tasks using a number of unusual processes and transitions -- sometimes with surprising results. The projects honor the late engineer and cartoonist, who was well known for his World War II-era drawings of elaborate devices.
This semester's inventions include machines that squeeze fresh orange juice, play catch with a dog, serve soda pop in different ways, light a cigar and turn off an alarm clock.
The students plan to link together six devices, incorporating more than 120 steps, during the ITLL Fall Design Expo, set for Saturday, Dec. 5, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
The Expo is free and open to the public. The event will be in the College of Engineering and Applied Science's award-winning Integrated Teaching and Learning Laboratory, located on Regent Drive about one block south of Colorado Avenue.
Students will have three chances to set a world record. A representative from the Guinness Book of Records may attend the event.
Â鶹ÊÓƵ 270 engineering students -- mostly freshmen -- will present team projects at the Design Expo. In addition to the Rube Goldberg contraptions, students have designed and built devices that assist people with disabilities or that are innovative products, interactive learning exhibits for museums and classrooms, and environmental sensing devices.
Most of the projects are created for actual clients who will put them into use.
Students in eight class sections of the college's First-Year Engineering Projects course will present their projects at the Expo along with one class of sophomore-level transfer students and a number of upper-level students who will present senior projects.
One of the eight course sections focuses on Rube Goldberg devices, while the others focus on other areas, working with clients to create their projects.
The First-Year Projects course, which is taught in the ITL Laboratory, provides CU-Boulder engineering students with hands-on design and building experience early in their careers. The ITL Laboratory officially opened in April 1997, offering a state-of-the-art experiential learning facility, in keeping with the campus commitment to creating a total learning environment for CU students.