And discover and learn they did in the University of Michigan design studio of Shaun Jackson where students used their imaginations to introduce Leonardo da Vinci to Rube Goldberg . Challenged to design a contraption that would turn on a light switch, and using only those materials and techniques familiar to the 15th century da Vinci, these student teams from U-M's School of Art and Design began researching what was rather unfamiliar territory for them. While da Vinci never needed encouragement to stretch his imagination by creating new mechanical toys and devices, Jackson's students come from a cyber world of Game Boys and Nintendo. They live in a virtual world. Because they are products of the information age, even rudimentary mechanics is foreign to them.
Most products are still mechanical.
To help his students become familiar with mechanics, Jackson challenged his class to design and build a machine that would turn on a light switch. And he asked them to use their creativity to make this simple task an engaging experience, much like the work of Rube Goldberg, Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist, sculptor, and author. And this combining of technical ability with creative whimsy became the goal for Jackson's class. Well, Jackson did waffle just a little and allowed rubber bands. With a prescribed amount of basswood, wire and rods, the student teams began working with mechanisms available in the 15th century.