MASSIVE CHAIN REACTION MACHINE IN DETROIT TAKES AIM AT WORLD RECORD.
International team’s Incredible Science Machine aims to set Guinness World Record for chain reaction
An international team of 16 builders will attempt to set the Guinness World Record for the largest chain reaction Saturday at the Michigan State Science Center.
A chain reaction machine — also known as a Rube Goldberg machine — is a deliberately complicated and over- engineered device made to complete a simple task.
The Incredible Science Machine, composed of over half a million parts, including over 200,000 dominoes took nine days of building, and more than a thousand combined hours.
The monstrous contraption, sponsored by Zeal Credit Union, covers 5,000 square feet and will take 30 minutes to complete when put into motion.
Dr. Tonya Matthews, CEO and president of the science centre, says that this is not only an amazing achievement, but also an opportunity to promote excellence in STEM areas for kids and adults.
“For those of you who have never seen these amazing chain reactions, there is process engineering, there is con- trol management, there are weights and pulleys and all of these things,” she said.
Matthews said that this type of hands-on learning is a more engaging way of showing principles of science.
“If you try to teach a young person to simply do an equation, you may or may not be able to keep his or her attention,” she said.
“If you tell them ‘if you get this right, you can flip a ball over a table and knock down 200, 000 extra dominoes,’ you might be able to get their attention.”
She said that head builder Steve Price and his team are doing something that no one has done before, and inspiring innovation in young people.
“We are all passionate about what we do, and we want to create incredible things to share with a wider audience,” Price said from Canton, Mich. The 21-year-old was featured on America’s Got Talent for one of his Rube Goldberg machines two years ago.
Many of the builders are accomplished in their own right, like 19-year-old Marcel Pürrer, who came all the way from Austria to work on the record-breaking project. Pürrer holds nine world records for various structures made of dominoes.
Sixteen-year-old Lily Hevesh not only has half-a-million subscribers on YouTube (Hevesh5), but also has had her work featured in Campbell Soup and Honda commercials.
The youngest team member is 11- year- old Brady Dolan, who has been building these machines since he was six years old.
The oldest member is the ‘Kinetic King’ Tim Fort, 50, who was also featured on America’s Got Talent.
All of the team members know each other through their individual YouTube channels and some have collaborated on previous projects.
“When you look at this team, these people are from all over the world, and they have all different passion and talent. There is no stereotype of who will be involved in STEM,” Matthews said.
After months of preparation and hours of concentration this past week, the team’s Incredible Science Machine will finally be put to the test this Saturday at 3 p.m.