Wantagh wins Rube Goldberg competition

Wantagh High School’s science students have been on a roll lately. Teams from the school placed first and second in the Rube Goldberg regional competition, a week after a team placed second in the Science Olympiad regionals at Wantagh High and advanced to the state tournament.

With many students participating in both, it meant preparing for two competitions at the same time — and just one week to devote solely to Rube Goldberg. Wantagh sent four teams to the event, which took place on Feb. 7 at the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Garden City. “I’m so proud of all of my teams,” said Kathy Cahill, who advises the club, along with Renee McDermott. “I’m so proud of their creativity, their ingenuity and their ability to problem-solve, which is the essence of Rube Goldberg.”

Each team had to build a machine that could perform a simple task in the most complicated way possible, and contained at least 20 steps. This year, the task was erasing a chalkboard or whiteboard.

The team captained by Emily Fenter and Tom Gifford, Thrill Seekers, placed first overall. Their machine’s theme was “Day at the Amusement Park.” It all started with a golf ball dropped into a Ferris wheel, which began a chain reaction. It ended with dominoes hitting a golf ball to trigger a record player, disguised as a merry-go-round, to erase the word “Rube” on the board.

“The two runs were almost completely flawless,” Gifford said.

For their victory, the team got a plaque as well as a book signed by Rube Goldberg’s granddaughter, Jennifer George, who was on hand. It also qualified for the national competition in Wisconsin in April.

Fenter and Gifford’s team placed second last year, and they attributed their improvement to strong teamwork. When their win was announced, they were jumping for joy.

The Goldberg Brothers, a team of 14 people led by Brian Tretter and Grace Sullivan, placed second overall. Their machine had a carnival and circus theme. The first step required dropping a golf ball down a ramp, which set off dominoes. It concluded with a ball dropping onto a lever. As the lever went down, an eraser rose to wipe off some lines on a chalkboard.

“The first time, we had a flawless run,” Tretter said. “The second time we had a little glitch, and that was the difference.”

A total of seven teams, from four high schools, took part. The top two scores from each team were considered in the judging. Students were allowed to intervene if something in the machine got stuck, but lost points as a result.

Sullivan said that her team spent months working on its machine, which required a lot of problem-solving during trial runs. “I felt that we really worked together,” she said, “and we had a lot of good ideas that went into this.”

Tretter and Sullivan are both sophomores. “I’m happy with how we placed,” Tretter said, “but next year we’re coming for the top.”

Cahill said that Wantagh traditionally does well at the competition, a testament to the students and their ability to apply what they learned in the classroom.

George, who attended the competition at the Cradle of Aviation for the first time, said she enjoyed seeing her grandfather’s legacy honored. She noted that Rube Goldberg used to be a male-intensive event, and it is good to see almost a fairly even split between boys and girls these days.

George, who lives in New York City, said she spent lots of time as a child at her grandfather’s place on Long Island, so she was glad to be back. “I love it,” she said. “The kids are amazing. You see the teamwork involved. You don’t have to be a science kid to love participating in this.”

Wantagh’s The Goldberg Brothers Team came in second with its carnival themed machine.