Chain Reaction Contraption Contest

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Chain Reaction Contraption Contest
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Orientation Agenda

• Introduction
• Rules
• Tips for Success
• Questions
• Contraption demonstration

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2007-2008 Chain Reaction Contraption Contest

• Contest Day
• Carnegie Science Center
• Friday, December 7, 2007
• 700AM - 400PM
• Challenge
• Draw and erase an X in 20 steps or more
• Team
• Four students, a teacher and a mentor (mentor is
  optional but recommended)

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Rules

• Complete rules available atwww.chainreactioncont
  est.org

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Student Participation

• We encourage any interested students at your
  school to participate. However, only one team
  can represent your school at the Chain Reaction
  Contraption Contest. Some schools have multiple
  teams build machines and then send the best
  teams machine to represent the school. Other
  schools choose to have the entire class
  participate as one team, creating one machine.
  All students participating receive certificates,
  but only the 4 students who represent the school
  on Contest Day will be recognized and will be
  eligible to receive prizes.
• Up to 4 home schools may combine efforts to field
  a 4-student team.

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Rules

• Administrative Rules
• The contraption must complete the challenge as
  defined in the Chain Reaction Contest Handbook
  (draw and erase an X in 20 steps or more).
• Each step is worth 1 point up to a maximum point
  total of 20 for the number of steps.
• Judging will be based on the rules set forth in
  the Chain Reaction Contraption Handbook.
• The judges will inspect the contraption for
  safety and rules infractions. Their decisions
  are final.
• The team must not spend more than 100 on the
  contraption.
• Each team must be set up by their assigned time
  on contest day. (Note that the contest will not
  be postponed due to inclement weather.) Nothing
  will be provided by the contest officials all
  materials required to set up the contraption must
  be provided by the team. No new construction is
  permitted at the contest site only the
  contraptions set-up should be completed on
  contest day.
• Contestants are responsible for removing their
  contraption and any debris immediately following
  the contest.
• A teams contraption must not imply profane,
  indecent, or lewd expressions.
• Live animals, plug-in electricity, combustible
  fluids, open flames and hazardous materials are
  not allowed.

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Step Definition

• A step is defined as an action that results in
  another action working towards the final goal of
  the machine. 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) are considered to be
  one step in the spirit of the Chain Reaction
  Contraption Contest.

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Rules

• Reasons for Disqualification
• An unsafe contraption
• Intentionally causing a loose or flying object to
  go outside the set boundaries of the contraption
• Damaging another teams contraption

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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.
• 10 point deduction for exceeding the dimension
  limit
• See page 2 of the Chain Reaction Contraption
  Handbook.

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Rules

• Time Limit
• Each contraption must take at least 30 seconds to
  run completely through its steps and must not run
  longer than 2 minutes. During the contest, you
  will be required to run your contraption
  completely through its steps (in at least 30
  seconds and at most 2 minutes), reset your
  contraption, then run it through its steps again
  (in at least 30 seconds and at most 2 minutes).
  Your reset must take less than 4 minutes.
• Worth 20 points of Operation score for time limit
  on runs and 5 point deduction if reset is greater
  than 4 minutes
• See page 3 of the Chain Reaction Contraption
  Handbook.

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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) or to give up on the run and call a
  restart.
• A restart must be called by a team member before
  the contraption completes its final step and can
  only be called when the contraption is stalled.
• Once the final step has been completed, the
  contraption run is deemed final and no restart
  may be taken.
• If the team calls a restart, any interventions
  that occurred during the initial run will not be
  penalized because the initial run will be
  replaced by the restart run. Any interventions
  that occur after the restart will be penalized.
• Only one restart will be allowed per run during
  the contest.
• 5 point deduction per restart 3 point deduction
  per human intervention
• See page 3 of the Chain Reaction Contraption
  Handbook.

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Rules

• Miscellaneous
• Each step must be marked on the contraption.
• Worth 2 points of Operation score
• Loose or flying object unintentionally leaving
  contraption boundary
• 2 point deduction for an unintentional loose or
  flying object
• Teachers, mentors and spectators are not allowed
  to coach or ask questions of the team.
• 10 pt deduction for coaching

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Points

• Design Proposal (5 pts)
• Photographic Progress Report 1 (2 pts)
• Photographic Progress Report 2 (2 pts)
• Photographic Progress Report 3 Preliminary List
  of Steps (6 pts)
• List of Steps, Photo Media Release(-12 pts if
  missing)
• Verbal Presentation (20 pts)
• Chain Reaction Contraption Operation (110 pts)

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Important Dates

• September 28 Registration Deadline
• October 5 Design Proposal Deadline
• October 19 Photographic Progress Report 1
  Deadline
• November 2 Photographic Progress Report 2
  Deadline
• November 16 Photographic Progress Report 3
  Deadline
• November 30 Media Release Deadline
• December 7 Chain Reaction Contraption Contest

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Making a Successful Contraption

• The contraption should run to completion with no
  human interventions or restarts and should
  complete the assigned task in the assigned number
  of steps.
• No team is penalized for having battery-powered
  steps, but mechanical steps are encouraged and
  score higher than battery-powered steps.
• A polished verbal presentation sells your
  contraption to the judges. Rehearse and plan for
  contest day.
• Come up with a design and construction plan.
• Pay attention to the score sheets in the Chain
  Reaction Contraption Handbook while planning your
  contest day strategy.

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Making a Successful Contraption

• Set a schedule
• Find a stable and easily transportable platform
• Be patient
• Be bold change a step if it does not perform
  consistently
• Allow time to correct the flaws
• Be creative and dont get discouraged

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Remember!

• Come prepared on contest day to make at least 8
  runs of your contraption.
• The team shall identify the contraptions final
  step to the judges during the opening
  presentation to avoid confusion during the
  contraption operation.
• If your contraption is not working perfectly on
  contest day, come anyway! There are special
  awards for which your team will be judged.

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Questions?