The Lego Great Ball Contraption
The Great Ball Contraption is a class of machines built with Lego that transport small balls from place to place in many different ways.
The otherwise pointless handling of balls, and the myriad ways this is accomplished, gives great ball contraptions the impression of a Rube Goldberg machine.
These machines can be quite large and elaborate and are displayed at Lego events around the world. Here’s a recent GBC at an event in Japan:
It’s worth watching for a bit for the ingenuity and all of the different mechanisms for moving objects around — plus, it’s mesmerizing. And it obviously reminds me of Chris Burden’s Metropolis II.
You can build your own Great Ball Contraption (or team up with others to do so) with the rules & resources listed here.
See also 20 Mechanical Principles Combined in a Useless Lego Machine, Treasure Trove of Over 1700 Mechanical Animations, Five Hundred and Seven Mechanical Movements, and Gears and Other Mechanical Things.
Comments 1
Any Rube Goldberg machine makes me think of the music from Peewee's Big Adventure because of this ytmnd: https://blueballfixed.ytmnd.com/
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