Advanced technology is often prized for its streamlined, efficient results. However, for those building a Rube Goldberg machine the creative process — not swift, accurate results — is key.
“It is the literal best STEM activity … that’s untouched by AI,” said Zach Umperovitch of Zach’s Contraptions. He will be visiting the Charles River Museum of Industry & Innovation from March 30 to April 3 for three Rube Goldberg-related activities: A device build, a talk and a contest.
Goldberg, who died in 1970, was a Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist who created whimsical illustrations of machines that solve “a simple problem in the most ridiculously inefficient way possible,” according to the Rube Goldberg Institute for Innovation & Creativity, where Umperovitch works as the global contest director.
Visitors can stop by the museum to watch the New Hampshire resident construct a device using objects he will bring as well as some belonging to the Waltham facility.
As for what he’ll be creating, the self-described “World’s Leading Authority in designing, constructing, testing, judging, educating and all around anything Chain Reaction/Rube Goldberg related,” said he’s not sure.
“I show up [to builds] without a plan,” Umperovitch said, although he hinted the Waltham museum contraption will likely be massive, measuring 20 feet by 20 feet.
No stranger to complex builds, he is a three-time Guinness World Record holder – twice for making the longest Rube Goldberg machine ever built and once for creating the largest potato battery. He also has created a machine that put toothpaste on a toothbrush and another that sprayed whipped cream onto a “Britain’s Got Talent” judge when he was on the show.
“A lot of it is playing,” Umperovitch said. He brings his program to thousands of students each year.
Stephen Guerriero, the museum’s director of education, said he hopes children’s “innovative imagination [will] run wild as they watch what he’s up to. … We want them to be inspired.”
Hosting the Rube Goldberg events for the first time, Guerriero said, “I’m just as excited as the kids to see what happens.”
Using their imagination
After Umperovitch gives a free talk on April 3 titled, “Failing Forward: The Critical Role of Failure in Creating Successful Rube Goldberg Machines,” the museum will host the 2026 Official Rube Goldberg Machine Contest Regional Qualifier Event on April 4.
“We were really excited by the fact that no other site in Massachusetts is hosting the contest,” Guerriero said. He’s hopeful it will become an annual event held in conjunction with the Rube Goldberg Institute for Innovation & Creativity.
“I think the location is phenomenal,” Umperovitch said.
Teams can either prebuild their machines or create them at the museum before the contest officially starts. Described as “a challenge of creativity, ingenuity, and teamwork all rolled into one,” this year’s assigned task is “Open a Box.” Participants must register at least three days before the April 4 event.
The official rulebook explains how to register a team. According to the book, “The more theatrical and funny your machine is, the better it will score.”
Perhaps the most important aspect of the contest is the “freedom to fail with confidence,” Umperovitch said.
The focus “is on situational problem solving. Rube Goldberg Machines, by their nature and definition, are likely to never work perfectly … and that is perfectly okay,” according to the rulebook.
“It’s more about the process, not the product,” Umperovitch said.
All teams from every regional event will receive a World Championship invitation, according to the rule book.
More information
- The Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation is located at 154 Moody St., Waltham. For more information, visit the website.
- The Rube Goldberg Machine Build will take place in the main gallery. Zach Umperovitch of Zach’s Contraptions will create the device March 30–April 3, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day. The machine will be set into motion ahead of Umperovitch’s mill talk on Friday, April 3, at 7 p.m. The free presentation is titled, “Failing Forward: The Critical Role of Failure in Creating Successful Rube Goldberg Machines.” Registration required.
- To learn more about the 2026 Official Rube Goldberg Machine Contest Regional Qualifier Event being held at the museum on Saturday, April 4, from 11 a.m.-3:30 p.m., visit the website.
- To learn more about the Rube Goldberg Institute for Innovation & Creativity, visit the website.
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