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Great Ball Contraption - Advanced

Overview

This honor requires youth to demonstrate understanding of mechanical engineering concepts through LEGO, build a reliable and original module, and collaborate in a larger working ball contraption display.

Requirements

1. Have the Great Ball Contraption honor.

2. What is the importance of stability in your design? Describe several ways to make your design stable.

3. What are the uses of different types of gears and motors? What are ways you can speed up or slow down the contraption?

4. What is the difference between a peg and a friction peg?

5. What is a gear clutch and what is its purpose?

6. Give examples of common problems encountered while designing and building a contraption. What are some troubleshooting strategies to use to solve these common issues?

7. Build a contraption of your own design. It must meet the following criteria:

  • a. Meet all the existing GBC requirements.
  • b. Be transportable/stable enough to adjust/move it around without breaking.
  • c. If inspired by an existing design, it must be substantively different than the original design; i.e. not just a change in color or 1–2-piece difference. It is acceptable to combine elements of existing designs into a new configuration.

8. Participate in a GBC group activity that has at least 12 modules, with two or more builders. You must successfully pass one of six marker balls to the end of the circuit. It can be an actual GBC show, an event hosted by your local club or area, or a community event.

Answer key & resources

Master awards

This honor counts toward:

Investiture Achievement

This honor is required, suggested or listed as an option in:

Adapted from AY Honors/Great Ball Contraption - Advanced on the Pathfinder Wiki, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. See the original page's history for its authors.
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