2014-15Contest Orientation
This Year’s Challenge
Transport an Object
Carnegie Science Center– Friday, December 12,
2014 7:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Chain Reaction Contraption Contest
Pre-contest day activitiesRegister and set-up (7:00 – 8:00)Preliminary Round (8:00 – 11:30)
Operations Judging Special Awards Judging
Special Awards Winners & Finalists (12:00-12:30)Final Round (12:45-3:30)
Operations JudgingFinal Awards Ceremony (3:45-4:00)
Awards
Operations JudgingThe top 3 teams will
receive prizes For the School For the 4 Official
Team Members
Special Awards Judging
Best Use of GravityRookie of the YearLongest Successfully
Executed ContraptionBest PresentationMost Efficient ResetBest Execution of a
Theme
Official Handbook
Check out the handbook for a complete list of rules, score
sheets, forms, available points, potential deductions and
important dates!
www.chainreactioncontest.org
Photographic Progress Reports
A picture or two of the contraption's evolution
Summary of what has happened Issues/challenges Innovative applications The list of steps is no
longer required
Due Oct 24th, Nov 14th and Dec 5th
Contraption Materials
Teams must provide an assessment of the total cost of the contraption and the % of used materials $100 max budget
New materials Materials that are donated or purchased in new
condition Use fair market value (e.g. Lowes) or actual cost
Used materials Materials that are recycled or scavenged for use Use reasonable assessment (garage sale/Goodwill)
Team Participation
Max of 4 students to represent the contraption on contest day More than 4 can participate in contraption design and build
Each registered school may register one additional team for the contest. An individual student may participate on one team Additional schools that participate on contest day will be
determined based on available space available spaces will be determined by random selection of
registered additional teams. Only one team per school can compete in the final round of
the contest.
Several Key Questions
How well does the contraption complete the requirements of the task?
How unique and creative is the approach to achieving the task?
How creative is the engineering design of the contraption?
Tips for Success – Pre-contest
Step 1 – Read the Handbook! Pay attention to the score sheets while planning your
contraption and contest day strategy.
Come up with a design and construction plan Set a schedule Complete all activities on-time and in-full
Dream, Build, Test and Revise – Think Repeatable Be patient, allow time to correct the flaws Be bold: change a step if it does not perform consistently Be creative and don’t get discouraged
Practice
Tips for Success – Contest Day
Anticipate what could happen Emergency supplies and consumables (your “triage kit”) Transportation issues
Show your hard work A polished verbal presentation “sells” your contraption Highlight key, unique and creative approaches and steps
Contraption Operation Have a checklist and use it to make sure everything is
right before starting each run. Check with the judges before touching the contraption. Relax and have Fun!
Contraption Jeopardy
What is the maximum size limit for the contraption?
What is the minimum amount of time the contraption must operate in a single run?
How many points are deducted for a human intervention?
What is the minimum expected number of steps?
What is the first pre-contest deliverable?
Contraption Jeopardy
How many students can represent the contraption for the judges on contest day?
What is the maximum budget allowed for the contraption?
What is a “restart”?How long do the students have to complete
the verbal presentation?How many points are available for the pre-
contest submittals?
Contraption Demonstration
2009-10 Contest – Construct a Building
Contraption Demonstration
2012-13 Contest – Fill a Container and Close It
Contraption Demonstration
2013-14 Contest – Communicate a Message
Questions?
Step Definition
A step is defined as an action that results in another action working towards the final goal
of the contraption.
For example, the act of tipping over a block of wood with a rolling ball is a step. The actual
tipping motion of the block is NOT a step, unless it causes another action to occur.
A series of the same actions repeated (such as dominoes knocking each other over or a ball hitting another ball) is considered to be one
step in the spirit of the Chain Reaction Contraption Contest.
Conceptual Design
An illustrative drawing or drawings of your ideas for your contraption
Does not need to match contest day contraption
Detailed step information is not required
Due October 10th
Rules
Dimensions The finished
contraption must not exceed 5 ft x 3 ft x 2 ft. The contraption, while operating, must remain inside the dimensions. The platform is included in the maximum dimension measurement.
Rules
Restarts & Human Interventions If your contraption should fail during its operation,
you may decide whether to: continue the run by helping a step along (a human
intervention) give up on the run and starting over (a restart)
Time Limit Each contraption must take at least 30 seconds to
run completely through its steps and must not run longer than 2 minutes.
Your reset must take less than 4 minutes.
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