High schools to build burgers at 2008 Illinois Rube Goldberg championship

Students from six Illinois high schools will meet Saturday, March 22, 2008, to complete in the 10th annual Illinois State Championship Rube Goldberg Machine Contest. Their task is 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 or more steps.

The contest, sponsored jointly by Argonne National Laboratory and the University of Illinois, Urbana, starts at 11:00 a.m. in the Chicago Children's Museum on Navy Pier. The students get to show their creativity and imagination, learn something about science and engineering, and provide lots of fun for themselves and spectators.

To compete in the championship contest, each team had to finish among the top three teams in a qualifying contest.

The six teams teams competing for the 2008 championship are:

• Cornerstone Discovery Group, H.S., Champaign
• Maine Township High School, Park Ridge
• Pekin H.S., Pekin
• Alan B. Shepard H.S., Palos Heights
• Stark County H.S., Toulon
• Wilmington High School, Wilmington

The first- and second-place teams will advance to compete in the National Championship Rube Goldberg machine contest for high schools, scheduled for 2 p.m. April 5 at Purdue University.

In addition, the winning team will receive the Argonne Science Award, emblematic of the Illinois High School State Championship for construction and operation of Rube Goldberg machines; $600 will be donated to the school's science program.

The second-place team will receive a presentation certificate and a $400 donation to the school's science program.

The third-place team will receive a presentation certificate and a $300 donation to the school's science program.

Fourth- through sixth-place teams will receive a $200 donation to their schools' science programs.

Past Illinois State Champions were Wilmington H.S., Wilmington, in 2007; Maine South H.S., Park Ridge, in 2006; Morgan Park Academy, Chicago, in 2005; Maine West High School, Des Plaines, in 2004; William Fremd High School, Palatine, in 2003, Plainfield High School, Plainfield, in 2002, 2001 and 2000, and Maine South H.S., Park Ridge, in 1999.

For more information, please contact Brock Cooper (media@anl.gov or 630-252-5565) at Argonne.

"Rube Goldberg" is a trademark of Rube Goldberg Inc.