The Rube Goldberg machine has been our biggest project to date – and is a celebration of 2018 as the Year of Engineering, which is a government initiative to celebrate the wonder of the engineering industry. 
It’s always said that two heads are better than one – so what could be possible with hundreds? The creators of popular YouTube channel Kids Invent Stuff, Ruth Amos and Shawn Brown, wanted to find out. Since being a finalist in the 2018 Electronics Weekly BrightSparks programme for creating the StairSteady, inventor Ruth has continued pushing boundaries in the industry – this time by breaking a Guinness World Record!
Ruth and Shawn set themselves the mammoth challenge of building a huge Rube Goldberg machine by combining the ingenious and creative ideas of children across the UK aged between five and 11, with 600 of their ideas being submitted. By bringing together the best concepts put forward by their viewers, Ruth and Shawn set a world record by combining the highest number of children’s ideas to make the machine, with 60 designs used in its creation.
Taking on the Rube Goldberg Challenge
So what is a Rube Goldberg machine? Named after the cartoonist who invented the concept – Reuben Lucius ‘Rube’ Goldberg – it’s a device or apparatus which uses a chain reaction of events to achieve a really simple task in an overcomplicated way.
So in November, at the Institute of Imagination in London, Ruth and her partner took on the DIY challenge with the biggest task yet for Kids Invent Stuff, to capture the interests of young people and inspire the next generation of engineers.
After working tirelessly for a week to set up and test all the individual ideas, with the support of volunteers from RS and the donation of RS PRO products to help build it, the challenge was a success. Ruth and Shawn even appeared on the BBC to promote their event live on national TV!
What started Ruth’s journey into engineering?
Ruth was first inspired to pursue her engineering career during her GCSEs, after creating a revolutionary product at the age of just 15.
Her teacher set a challenge to design an aid for people with limited mobility to use their stairs, as his father had just had a stroke, and that’s when Ruth designed the StairSteady.
Her involvement in engineering soared from there, after she won the 2006 Young Engineer of the Year award in Britain for her invention. The product was later launched in April 2008 at national healthcare show Naidex, and StairSteady Ltd began trading in September 2008. She later won Best Established Product by the British Healthcare Trade Association in 2013.
It’s still a big part of her life a decade after she invented the product, as she’s the managing director of StairSteady Ltd with the product being manufactured and sold across the UK.
An inspiration for other young engineers
Alongside her and Shawn’s highly watched YouTube channel, Kids Invent Stuff, Ruth has been a STEM Ambassador for 12 years to help promote engineering among young people. She was also in the BrightSparks class of 2018 – a programme we partner with Electronics Weekly on to celebrate the country’s top 30 engineers under the age of 30.
She’s been recognised for many other awards including Young Star award by Women of the Future and was the youngest person ever to appear on Management Today’s 35 Women Under 35 – the country's longest-running list of young female business talent.
“As a kid I loved making and designing things,” she says. “Even though I got into engineering a little later, it’s really important we start inspiring children much earlier on, which is why we feel it’s important to target them when aged between 5 and 11 years with Kids Invent Stuff.
It's really important we start inspiring children much earlier on, which is why we feel it's important to target kids between 5 and 11 years old.
“Lots of young people watch YouTube, so it’s a great way to engage them, and unlike traditional TV it gives them the chance to have a voice by being a more interactive platform.
“The Rube Goldberg machine has been our biggest project to date – and is a celebration of 2018 as the Year of Engineering, which is a government initiative to celebrate the wonder of the engineering industry.
“We’ve really enjoyed working with RS on this project and they’ve supported us with a huge amount of products, which have been vital for the challenge.”
Watch the Kids Invent Stuff Rube Goldberg machine in action to see the children’s engineering ideas brought to life, plus find out more about YouTube sensation Kids Invent Stuff here. To see more of Ruth at the BrightSparks class of 2018, check out our story which celebrated International Women in Engineering Day
To find out more about how RS support and engage with students and partners in STEM and Education in the UK and Northern Europe, please get in touch with Laura Giddings, Education Event Manager for UK and Northern Europe / Laura.Giddings@rs-components.com
