Amazing Spaghetti machines get ready to ‘can it for the planet’
Budding engineers from all over Victoria will gather at the University of Melbourne this Friday, 11 August to build a can-crushing machine for recycling.
The young engineers are part of the ‘Amazing Spaghetti Machine Contest’ where Year 10 students compete to build the most amazing ‘spaghetti machine’ — the Italian term for an overly complex machine or device that is used to perform a relatively simple task.
Launched in 2011 by the Melbourne School of Engineering, it is now an annual competition for school students to apply their knowledge and skills in maths, science, engineering and project management by inventing a ‘spaghetti machine’.
The most famous spaghetti machine creator was US inventor and cartoonist Rube Goldberg, which is why they are often known as ‘Rube Goldberg machines’.
University of Melbourne Professor in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering Jamie Evans is MC for the event, which is now in its fifth year.
“We are thrilled to have 22 schools in the competition this year," Professor Evans said.
"They have all been using their creativity and design skills to come up with a complex machine to crush a can and put it into a bin.
“Students must achieve this within a minimum of 12 steps, over a maximum of two minutes, to get that can in the bin and ready for recycling.”
The Melbourne School of Engineering launched the competition in 2011 for the 150th anniversary of Engineering at Melbourne.
The aim is to inspire students to discover engineering through a fun and challenging team-based activity. The project allows students to learn about the basic principles of engineering while designing the most entertaining contraption possible.
“Students are encouraged to incorporate elements from a variety of engineering disciplines, including structural, electrical, mechanical and chemical engineering,” said Professor Evans.
“We are thrilled with the level of entries this year and the sheer imagination behind them. Schools have been busily designing, building and testing their machines over the past four months and learning valuable engineering principles along the way.”
The final showdown will take place in Wilson Hall at the University of Melbourne’s Parkville campus on Friday, 11 August, where all competing schools will demonstrate their machines to judges and the general public from 1pm – 3pm.
The University of Melbourne has an international version of the competition open to all international high school students aged between 14-17, outside Australia and New Zealand. Registrations for the International Competition open 1 September and close 13 October.
Photo and filming opportunities include vision of projects in action, interviews with participants and judges.