Under the direction of Dr. Perkins Pringle, learners at the NIHFSTEM middle school recently submitted their Rube Goldberg machine application to the Goodyear STEM Career Day Challenge. Learners collaborated to design a competitive entry. Made entirely from recycled materials the team’s machine traveled through space telling the story of several significant accomplishments in space. A remote robotic start coded by our learners initiated the first leg of the Tesla rocket launch. As balls rolled down Plinko machines and cars were released in tracks around rotating planets, we enter the Cassini Space Probe portion of the mechanism. In a symbolic geyser, water pours down a tube leading to the International Space Station and the final destination lighting up stars around the Goodyear blimp. Our dedicated and determined learners did all of the work on their “Spacefaring” machine after school. They are anxiously awaiting the results of the competition at the Goodyear STEM Day on May 4, 2019. This annual day-long event is celebrating its 20th year. To learn more about participating in this event, take a look at the attached information.