2026 Digital Rube Goldberg Machine Minecraft Contest: Open A Box

The Digital Rube Goldberg Machine Contest is a STEAM competition where students compete with machines that they have imagined, designed in Minecraft, and created in a fun and competitive forum.

The competitions encourage teamwork and out-of-the-box problem-solving in a fresh learning environment and level playing field. As always, the digital challenge mirrors the analog event. This year's challenge is to use Minecraft to build a wacky machine that will Open A Box.

There are two divisions students can compete in: Junior (8-13 years old), and Senior (13-18 years old).

TEAM GUIDE

2026 Digital Rube Goldberg Machine Minecraft Contest: Open A Box

How to submit your Big Build Challenge

Step 1: Make sure you have all the requirements for your machine listed in the team guide (Pages 8-10).

Step 2: Gather your links, machine step list and screenshots. Submit them to the Google Form.

The submission deadline is April 24, 2026

Submit your Big Build

Missed the livestream? Watch the videos on demand below!

Resources for Educators

Tutorial Videos

How To Create A Lever

How To Create A Wedge

How To Create Incline Planes

How To Create Pulleys

How To Create Screws

How To Create A Wheel and Axle

What is a Rube Goldberg Machine?

Theme / Story / Humor

Building Chain Reactions

NASEF & Rube Goldberg / Unreal Engine

NASEF, in partnership with the Rube Goldberg Institute, announces the Rube Goldberg Unreal Engine Challenge^®. This interactive 3D competition invites students to use their creativity to animate a virtual Rube Goldberg Machine in the digital world.

Create, record, and submit a video of your Rube Goldberg Unreal Engine Machine that accomplishes the 2025-26 task: Open A Box.

The submission deadline closes on Friday, May 8th, 2026