2010 Rube Goldberg Machine Contest:
High schools to dispense hand sanitizer in wackiest-machine contest

(Go to the list of 2010 teams)

Students from 12 Chicago-area high schools will soon be digging through basements, garages and attics, scrounging for discarded doohickeys and left-over thingamajigs, then putting them together in weird combinations.

The event: Argonne National Laboratory's 15th annual Rube Goldberg machine contest at Chicago Children's Museum on Navy Pier.

The 2010 task: To build a complicated machine that takes at least 20 steps to "dispense an appropriate amount of hand sanitizer into a hand."

The date: Friday, March 12, 2010.

More information: Full information packets, including rules and entry applications will be mailed to Chicago-area high schools before the end of November 2010. If you want to be sure your school receives an information package, please click the "Receive info " link below and send us the following information, all of which is required:

• Name of faculty advisor
• School name
• School address

Receive info packet for Argonne's 15th annual Rube Goldberg machine contest for Chicago-area high schools.

Contest details:

• Entry address: Do not send your entry form to Argonne. Instead, send it to Rube Goldberg, Inc. The address is on the form. If you misplace the form, you can download a new one here or at the Rube Goldberg, Inc. Web site at www.rubegoldberg.com. Alternatively, you may fax your entry form to Rube Goldberg, Inc. at 203-557-4625. Be sure to indicate that you want to enter the Argonne contest.

• Entry fee: Please disregard the $300 entry fee requirement. Argonne will pay your entry fee.

• Stipend: In addition to paying each team's entry fee, Argopnne will provide each team with $100 to defray costs of materials and travel.

• Number of teams per school: Up to two teams from each school may enter Argonne's contest.

• Entry deadline: Argonne's contest is limited to the 12 teams on a first-come, first-served basis.

• Official rules: Please download them at the Rube Goldberg, Inc. Web site at www.rubegoldberg.com/

National High School Championship: The National High School Championship will be held Saturday, March 27, 2010, at Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind.

Winners of past Argonne contests and the tasks were:

• 2009– Wilmington High School, Wilmington; replace an incandescent light bulb with a more energy-efficient bulb.
• 2008 – Wilmington High School, Wilmington; assemble a hamburger consisting of no less than one precooked meat patty, two vegetables and two condiments, sandwiched between two bun halves.
• 2007– Maine South Township High School, Park Ridge; take a whole orange, juice it, and pour the juice from a pitcher into a cup.
• 2006 – William Fremd High School, Palatine; cut or shred into strips five sheets of 8½ by 11, 20-lb. paper individually with a shredder and place the shredded paper in a recycle bin.
• 2005 – Morgan Park Academy, Chicago; remove both old batteries from a two-battery flashlight, install new batteries and turn the flashlight on.
• 2004 – Morgan Park Academy, Chicago; select, mark and cast an election ballot.
• 2003 – Morgan Park Academy, Chicago; select and crush an empty 12-oz. aluminum soft drink can and move it into a recycling bin.
• 2002 – Plainfield High School, Plainfield; secure, raise and wave a national flag in 20 steps or more.
• 2001 – Plainfield High School, Plainfield; select, clean and peel and apple in 20 steps or more.
• 2000 – Minooka Community High School, Minooka; fill and seal a clear glass jar (think of it as a simulated time capsule) with models or samples of significant inventions of the 20th century in 20 steps or more.
• 1999 – Maine South High School, Park Ridge; place a regulation-sized golf ball on a tee in 20 steps or more.
• 1998 – William Fremd High School, Palatine; turn off an alarm clock in 20 steps or more.
• 1997 – Marist High School, Chicago; insert and play a compact disc in 20 steps or more.
• 1996 – Maine South High School, Park Ridge; plant a seed in soil in 20 steps or more.

2010 Teams

Teams entered in Argonne's 2010 contest will be listed below, in alphabetical order, as entries are received.

• Antioch Community High School
  Facutly advisor: Sarah Fay. Student team members: Cassandra Herman, Tracy Mapaye and Zach Widder.
• Chicago Christian High School
  Facutly advisor: Steve Beezhold. Student team members: Jacob Aardema, Kheloog Chin, Alex Huisenga, Brian Iwema, Jeffrey Kamp, Jordan Kamp, Chris Kuipers, Ryan Kuyvenhoven and Ken Warren.
• Glenbrook North High School
  Facutly advisor: Bob Froehlich. Student team members: Reed Boyer, Diana Kagan, Eli Klein, Monny Singh and Ho Jin Sun.
• Hoffman Estates High School
  Facutly advisor: Wayne Oras. Student team members: Luis Bardales, Kevin Clement, Brian Creeron, Zach Demmon, Bimal Dholakia, Mike Gascon, Carlie Iehl, Karan Patel, Josh Petkov, William Ruthe and Parth Soni.
• Joliet Central High School
  Facutly advisor: Zak Knott. Student team members: To be determined by intra-school team competition.
• Lake Zurich High School
  Facutly advisors:Brian Agustin, Julie Gyarmaty. Student team members: Joey Danial, Emily Fredete, Ryan Hurley, Joe Koncel, Jay Meyer and Zach Robinson.
• Latino Youth High School
  Facutly advisor: Joseph Sunshine. Student team members: Omar Aruizo, Gilberto Castrejon, Maria Juarez, Lydia Mexicano, Melanie Morales, Rosa Romero andFelix Sanchez.
• Rich East High School
  Facutly advisor: Mr. Freeman. Student team members: Brandon Blacher, Jean-Luc Clark, Ashley Jack, Javon Jones, Ritchie Ruiz, Tavia Smith, Janell Stutts and Victor Sharp.
• Alan B. Shepard High School
  Facutly advisor: Jeff Partynski. Student team members: C.J. Bednarz, Ken Martin, Tim O'Neill, Angela Powers and Mike Prokop.
• Wilmington High School
  Facutly advisor: Kathy Biesiada. Student team members: Zachary Cox, Brandon Hasty, Ashley Howard, Taylor Mancuso, Connor Olson, Eric Runions, Travis Smith, Matt Woodall, Rachel Woodall and Ceara Viano.
• York Community High School
  Facutly advisor: Elizabeth Wall. Student team members: Ehren Hein, Vicky Hoved, Kevin Michaud, Jason Silverthorn and Carl Wirth.

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