Welcome to the Rube Goldberg Competition's blog for 2009! We're getting excited as the supplies are beginning to arrive and our mentor sorting party date approaches! This blog is an additional guide for the competition. We will be blogging about logistics, answering FAQs throughout the course of the next four months, posting pictures, and uploading URLs to videos. We would love to hear from the competitors and the coaches, all communicating on one common ground.
Of course, if we have an important announcement to make, we'll be sure to contact everyone rather than just posting it on the blog. However, we want to put up supplementary videos a la Bill Nye style about different mechanisms such as levers, pulleys, etc for inspiration. Pictures will mostly be uploaded after the competition date so check back even after the whole event is finished for some extra goodies.
Simply Supplies
Ordering supplies was much harder than we thought it would be. All the nitty gritty details of the competition came to a head, and we had to make decisions. Luckily we had several brainstorming sessions beforehand, and now, we're fairly pleased with the variety. There are definitely some changes from last year! But it seems as though we simply cannot get away from the staples of building materials: PVC, wood, and duct tape. If you were in our shoes, what would you like to see put in the kit in 2010? Do you have any suggestions on different "staples?" What about the more exciting supplies like the chomping teeth and paratroopers from last year: do you have suggestions about some additional things we should include?
Feedback
Your responses will be very important for shaping the next competition. Yes, we know you might be thinking, "but it hasn't even happened yet!" but we want to provide a constant feedback loop. Instead of saving (and potentially forgetting!) all the criticisms and praises for the competition until the end, we'd like to keep an ongoing dialogue so that you can feel free to suggest, comment, and question away all the time! So pretty please let us know what's on your mind.
Would you like to see the blog used for another purpose? Again, just let us know!
Thanks for reading, everyone. We'll see you around real soon...
Brooke J.
