Fifth Graders Get Creative by Designing Complex Machines

At Alpha, Mrs. Benjamin's 5th graders are designing Rube Goldberg-type machines using CAD (Computer-Aided Design) software. During their stand-alone STEM classes, the students have been designing complex machines to perform simple tasks. They're also learning about the late inventor, engineer and Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist Rube Goldberg, best known for his animated depictions of complex gadgets.

—Anne Muth Orlando