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Marquette University College of Engineering
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Discovery World at Pier Wisconsin
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Wisconsin Regional Rube Goldberg Machine Contest Rules

  1. The machine must complete the task as described in the challenge.
  2. The machine must be no larger than 5’H x 6’W x 6’D.
  3. The machine must have a minimum of 20 steps.
  4. There is no maximum number of steps.
  5. The machine must run, reset and run again in 9 minutes.
  6. No corporate logos may be displayed on the machine.
  7. No live animals may be used in the machine.
  8. The machine must not imply profane, indecent or lewd expressions.
  9. Any loose or flying objects must remain within the set boundaries of the machine.  This included but is not limited to, drops of water, slivers of balloon, and other small objects. Steam and gasses are exempt from this rule.
  10. No open flames may be used on the machine.
  11. No hazardous materials or explosives can be used on the machine.
  12. The machine must be safe to satisfaction of the WI Regional Planning Committee.  The Committee must approve any questionable items prior to competition.
  13. Teams are limited to 12 members.  The number of people allowed to present and start the machine is 2.
  14. Each team member must be enrolled as a student at the representative school.
  15. Any destructive action against another machine is grounds for disqualification.
  16. Participation in the contest implies consent to use contest photographs in local, regional and national publicity.
  17. A step in defined as a linear process, not a parallel process.  If a plane, for example moves up a wire and triggers a switch - that would be an example of one complete step.  If the plane causes two things to happen that would be a parallel result and would only count as one complete step.
  18. All teams must submit a stated number of copies of their machine’s steps at the event.

For all questions and suggestions regarding this site, please contact Kelly Wesolowski at 414-297-6058 or wesolowk@matc.edu

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