Take the Rube Goldberg challenge! Toppling dominoes, rolling marbles, racing balloon cars, springing catapults, and whizzing zip-lines are all elements used to build Rube Goldberg machines in Crazy Contraptions: Build Machines that Swoop, Spin, Stack, and Swivel with Hands-On Engineering Activities . Middle schoolers love the wacky machines designed by Goldberg, which were based on complicated chain reactions used to accomplish very simple, sometimes ridiculous, tasks. Young engineers are invited to invent, design, create, and play as they make their own Rube Goldberg machines using the engineering design process and lots of imagination!

Laura Perdew is an author, writing consultant, and former middle school teacher. She has written more than 20 books for the education market on a wide range of subjects and is the author of Extinction What Happened to the Dinosaurs, Mastodons, and Dodo Birds? and Biodiversity: Explore the Diversity of Life on Earth with Science Activities for Kids. She is a long-time member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, and an avid runner and hiker. Laura lives and plays in Boulder, Colorado.

Micah Rauch is a freelance graphic designer and illustrator from the beautiful state of Montana. He received a BFA in graphic design from Montana State University in Bozeman Montana. He has loved the magical act of drawing his entire life and continues to learn and push his skills both as a designer and an illustrator.