Your Challenge
It’s the final challenge of 2023! As always, we are ending with our favorite challenge. Your objective this week is to build an amazing Rube Goldberg Machine: an unnecessarily complex creation designed to perform a very simple task, usually involving lots of chain reactions.
Here are a few incredible and very elaborate examples of Rube Goldberg Machines (don’t worry, we don’t expect yours to be this complicated!): Monica Calls the Elevator, The Cake Server, Pass the Salt!, The Lemonade Machine
Important Challenge Dates:
August 13 | Video entries due by 9pm.
August 14-15 | Voting is open. Be sure to vote for all of your favorite videos!
August 15 | Winners announced by 8pm
August 22 | 2023 Awards Show online by 7pm!
For more information about contest entry and voting, click here.
Complete the Challenge.
You have until August 13 at 9pm to work on your challenge and submit your solution. See our full contest rules to learn what you can and cannot do.
Make a video showing your solution.
Try to keep your video under 90-seconds long and include the following:
• The name of your solution.
• How does it work?
• What materials did you use?
• Did you have to overcome any problems?
• What was the biggest lesson you learned?
EPIC FAIL! Failure is an important part of the engineering and invention process. It’s how we learn and move forward. Be proud of your failures and show them off. If you capture a failed solution attempt on video, be sure to enter it separately into the Epic Fail contest category. The most impressive failure of the week will win a prize!
Your video will be visible to anyone with an internet connection, so it’s important to protect your privacy and stay safe. See our guidelines for more information.
Enter the contest by 9:00pm ET on August 13.
Ask a parent to upload your video to our website using our online entry form.
All contest and epic fail entries will receive 1 point for our big end-of-the-summer prize drawing!
You can earn bonus points for:
- Getting a friend to participate in their first ever Invent the Summer challenge
(make sure they give you credit) – 5 points - Completing 3 challenges in a row – 3 points
- Completing 5 challenges – 5 points
- Completing ALL 8 challenges – 5 points
View other solutions and VOTE!
You can see all the solutions and vote for your favorites from 8:00am ET on Monday, August 14 until 5:00pm ET on Tuesday, August 15. See our voting rules for more information.
Winners announced by 8:00pm on August 15!
Audience Choice Award: Goes to the solution with the most votes.
Editor’s Choice Award: Selected by the Junior Board of Engineers. Solutions will be
judged on originality, execution and presentation.
Epic Fail Award: Given to the most impressive failure of the week. Selected by the Junior Board of Engineers.
Winners receive their choice of an Invent the Summer t-shirt, notebook, or drawstring bag.
