Rube Goldberg Institute Launches the First ‘Unreal’ Rube Goldberg Machine Contest!

Brand Central and the Rube Goldberg Institute collaborated with Epic Games’ Unreal Engine team to launch a new contest to bring the joy of building Rube Goldberg machines to students, hobbyists, game developers and creators of real-time 3D content. The contest invites users to use Epic’s Unreal Engine, to create a functioning Rube Goldberg machine as an interactive 3D experience.

The contest is a perfect ect way for the youth to demonstrate creativity and engineering skills using Unreal Engine, the real-time 3D creation tool used by developers to build high- quality games and interactive content across virtually any platform, including PC, mobile, console, VR, and AR. Through the release of the new Unreal Learning Kit: Rube Goldberg Machines, anyone can access free lessons to learn how to build virtual contraptions in Unreal Engine. The learning kit provides an easy entry point to using Unreal Engine in a fun and engaging way, and the step-by-step activities make it easy for educators to bring Unreal Engine into their classroom. The competition will provide an opportunity for students or hobbyists to demonstrate their creativity based on the tech skills they acquire along the way.

“Our brand has become more and more relevant to Gen Z, with over 550M posts on TikTok for #rubegoldberg and more than a billion across all social platforms. Through our partnerships with NASEF and Minecraft – and the popularity of our online Rube Goldberg Machine Contests, the brand is well established in the digital world. And this new collaboration with the Unreal Engine team at Epic Games is an exciting teaching tool that readies next generation problem solvers with 21st Century skills.” said Jennifer George, Chief Creative Officer at The Rube Goldberg Institute.

The Unreal Engine Rube Goldberg pack is available to download on PC and Mac and is free to use. Everything you need to get started can be found on the Unreal Developer Community Hub.

ABOUT RUBE GOLDBERG                                                                                    

Rube Goldberg (1883-1970) was a Pulitzer-Prize-winning cartoonist best known for his comical chain reaction invention cartoons. For 60+ years his work was published daily in hundreds of newspapers and magazines and the popularity of his absurdly complex inventions made him a cultural icon. In his lifetime, Rube’s name became an adjective in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, but today he’s also a verb. With millions of young people around the world building Rube Goldberg Machines, in school and in our official Rube Goldberg Machine Contests – and posting them online, the question now is: “Do you Rube?” The Rube Goldberg Institute for Innovation & Creativity, a not-for-profit organization, operates as a “museum without walls” introducing people of all ages to the rewards of engaging in the Arts and Sciences. The Institute offers LIVE, Cartooning and Minecraft Contests, while exhibitions, books, licensing, merchandising, customized curriculum, and entertainment properties continue to grow and enhance the brand.

ABOUT BRAND CENTRAL

Brand Central LLC is a premiere global brand consultancy that provides comprehensive business solutions in the areas of brand extensions, trend intelligence, and manufacturer representation to some of the world’s most recognized brands, including Mars Wrigley, Black Paper Party, and Mister Rogers Neighborhood – just to name a few. Their mission is to help clients unlock the full potential of their brands to enhance value while generating substantial revenue.