University of Windsor engineering students took part in one of the world’s largest Rube Goldberg machines to help kick-off National Engineering Month.
The University of Windsor Engineering Student Society joined schools across the province in constructing one large Rube Goldberg machine — a complicated machine designed to do a simple task. The chain reaction spanning multiple campuses ended by turning the CN Tower purple at 6 p.m. on March 1 as part of National Engineering Month.
UWindsor’s Rube Goldberg machine commenced in the Ed Lumley Centre for Engineering Innovation after receiving an Internet phone call from McMaster University and ended by dialing Carleton University. The University of Ottawa’s machine completed the chain reaction by turning the CN Tower purple. An engineering Q&A session and reception at the CN Tower followed the lighting of the tower.
Canadian engineering schools’ association with purple is commonly attributed to the purple-clad marine engineers who remained on board the Titanic to delay the ship’s sinking.
The Engineering Students Societies’ Council of Ontario (ESSCO) organizes the annual lighting of the CN Tower in partnership with National Engineering Month (NEM) Ontario to promote engineering as a profession and celebrate its contributions to society.
View a video of UWindsor’s 2015 Rubge Goldberg machine here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_vWIEBCLiQ