IIT - Inventing the Future

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The Chicago Children's Museum hosted Argonne's 2008 Rube Goldberg Machine Contest on March 22. Six groups of Illinois high school students competed to be one of two teams to advance to Nationals in Indianapolis.

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Who was Rube Goldberg, anyway? He was a man with a lot to say about what he saw in the world, and he said it through cartoon drawings that demonstrated both his knowledge of engineering and his feelings about modern-day technology.

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A "Scottish" student from Cornerstone Discovery Group, a homeschooled group from downstate Illinois, outlines how his dear Bessie the cow is turned into a delicious burger.

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Wilmington High School students thought it best to drown their concept in Spongebob Squarepants paraphernalia. Here, a student puts some finishing touches on the 6 ft. x 6 ft. x 6 ft. machine.

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Joining the festivities from the southwest suburb of Palos Heights were the students of Alan B. Shepard High School with "AstroBurger" - a madhouse of electro-magnets and amusing events that spits out lunch in the end.

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Each team was required to design a machine to "assemble a hamburger consisting of no less than one precooked meat patty, two vegetables and two condiments, sandwiched between two bun halves" in 20 steps or more. Pekin High School went several extra miles - their "Bun-Top Diner" did it in 75!!

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A budding engineer from Maine South High School, in full character, points out each function of her team's crazy contraption.

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The judges retreat to a pod above the expo area to deliberate on which of the six teams is most worthy of national recognition. When they're not judging high schoolers, the judges are the center of some national attention themselves, doing mega-important research at Argonne National Laboratory.

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While the judges retreat for discussion, the participants and their family and friends disperse to the rest of the Chicago Children's Museum. Here, a young adult puts her face on some flying creature...

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...while "big kids" of all ages tackle the task of uncovering prehistoric dinosaur skeletons in Niger...

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...while the smallest and most creative of folks get dirty and bright in "My Museum".

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Then, ORDER'S UP!! The judges emerged to present their awards:
1) Pekin High School
2) Alan B. Shepard High School
3) Cornerstone Discovery Group

Congratulations to all, and hope to see your contraptions again next year!!