Great Ball Contraption

Great Ball Contraption

Standard sized glass marbles will be used. The marbles will travel from one team's contraption to the next teams, thru the transfer mechanism. Image and instructions below.

These are the design parameters that students are challenged to consider for their contraption.

Distance Traveled.

Max elevation.

Sum of elevation change.

Number of elevation changes.

Time to travel thru the system (the ball must be moving)

Consistency of feeding the transfer mechanism

Max flight distance thru the air.

Variety of functional materials used (not limited to LEGO. Be creative!)

*Note: With the exception of the transfer linkage, students are encouraged to use materials other than LEGO. If using Mindstorms Programmable Bricks to move motors, teams may use more than one, but they may use any motor to activate their mechanism including non LEGO motors.

For inspiration, view this video or search for more like it on youtube.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUtS52lqL5w

IMAGE OF COMPLETE LINKAGE BUILDING INSTRUCTIONS.

Great Ball Machine Video - Click image for link