BY JULIA BLAKE AND BRIAN COOTE

“If there was ever a lab that allowed students to be creative and do physics at home, this was it,” said Mr. Austin, the Honors Physics teacher. 

With school being moved to online many students have lost the hands-on experience of learning. In Mr. Austin’s Honors Physics class, students are still getting real life experience in their own home. While learning about simple machines this physics class was asked to create a Rube Goldberg machine to apply what they learned. 

A Rube Golberg machine is a device that is created to do a very simple task in a very overly complicated way.

“Some people definitely went above and beyond my expectations,” said Austin. “Some people made huge machines, even some that start upstairs and end downstairs. I have really enjoyed seeing people’s creativity in action as they come up with a simple task and a complicated way of completing it.”

With COVID-19 all learning has become virtual and lack interactions. Most teacher interactions are through pre-recorded videos and google classroom. This lab has become a way for students to apply what they learn and get a break from technology-based learning. 

“I really enjoyed seeing my students again. I sit here at home grading their work and creating video lessons, but I really miss the interaction with the students that we have in the classroom,” said Austin. 

Here are a few of the Rube Goldberg machines.