EDIT: 12/20/25 - The deadline for submissions has been extended to JANUARY 15th.

The Philadelphia Contraption Contest and Pig Iron Theatre Company

Present

RING THE BELL: A SEMIQUINCENTENNIAL CONTRAPTION CONTEST

FOR MIDDLE SCHOOLERS

 

MIDDLE SCHOOL TEAMS FROM THE GREATER PHILADELPHIA AREA FACE OFF

TO BUILD THE BEST RUBE GOLDBERG MACHINE

 

Pig Iron is teaming up with The Philly Contraption Contest to celebrate our city's young inventors with a competition to see who can build the best Rube Goldberg machine. Each machine should Ring a Bell - in the most complicated way possible.  As Pig Iron celebrates its 30th year, right alongside Philadelphia’s 250th – we want to champion that special crossroads where art meets science, where engineering meets storytelling: how can a machine be made to accomplish a task in the most circuitous, most delightful way possible?

 

Teams of 3 or more middle schoolers can register HERE to compete on April 11, 2026, at the Bok Building in South Philadelphia (1901 S 9th St, Philadelphia 19148).  This event will be free and open to the public.