February 22, 2006

Contact:

Amy Vineyard
615-401-5059
avineyard@adventuresci.com

Christi Williams
Seigenthaler Public Relations
615-327-7999
christi@seig-pr.com

Nashville, TN - The Rube Goldberg High School Machine Contest™, Adventure Science Center’s annual mental gymnastics competition, takes place Saturday, March 11, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and challenges teams of Tennessee High School students to make a simple task as complicated as possible in pursuit of a chance to compete at the national level.

The contest is named for the Pulitzer Prize-winning artist whose “invention” cartoons satirized new technologies and many human beings’ tendency to make easy tasks difficult. Goldberg’s drawings depict complex and convoluted ways of producing benefits or results that are nonetheless tangible and functional.

This year’s competition asks student teams to seek inspiration from Goldberg as they develop machines that use a minimum of 20 steps to individually cut 5 sheets of 8 ½” by 11” paper into strips and deposit them into a recycle bin. The more steps involved in the process, the better the score. Each team is given a $100 honorarium for construction expenses.

“This chaotic, intuitive process of design and creativity helps students explore the limitless possibilities of invention,” said Christy Whitney of Adventure Science Center. “Though not the most practical method, the Rube Goldberg approach requires ingenuity and focus to ultimately accomplish a straightforward task. The contest is an exercise in expanding the minds of our future engineers and inventors.”

The 2006 teams include students from around the state. The teams represent:

• Alcoa High School (Blount County)
• Bartlett High School (Shelby County)
• Blackman High School (Rutherford County)
• Greenbriar High School (Robertson County)
• Hillwood High School (Davidson County)
• Riverdale High School (Rutherford County)
• Stratford High School (Davidson County)

The winning team receives an all-expenses-paid trip to the National Rube Goldberg High School Competition in Wisconsin and individual memberships to Adventure Science Center.

Patrons who visit the Science Center on March 11 can partake in an array of Goldberg-inspired activities -- from a machine scavenger hunt to a “design your own Rube Goldberg Machine” workshop. Visitors also will be able to vote for their favorite Rube Goldberg machine; the high school team garnering the most support will receive a “People’s Choice Award”.

Sponsors of the competition are First Tennessee Foundation, Tuck-Hinton Architects and Francis Communications. Waddey & Patterson, P.C., is the sponsor of Adventure Science Center’s Creativity & Invention months, held January through March. Waddey & Patterson is a full service intellectual property law firm handling patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret and domain related matters.

About Adventure Science Center
For 60 years, Adventure Science Center has brought science to life for children in Middle Tennessee, Southern Kentucky, Northern Alabama and beyond. The center offers hands-on, interactive exhibits and engaging programs that encourage children of all ages to explore how science, invention and innovation affect their lives. Adventure Science Center encourages imagination and curiosity, and engages the senses in the fascinating world of science.

Adventure Science Center’s regular hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 12:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $9.00 for adults, and $7.00 for children ages 3 to 12 and seniors age 65 or older. Young Inventors Day activities are included in regular admission. The Science Center is located at 800 Fort Negley Blvd. For more information, call (615) 862-5160 or visit our web site.