EUGENE, OR — Legos may come in detailed kits these days, but some middle schoolers in Eugene are going back to basics — building complex machines from simple bricks and their own ideas.
Students at the Arts and Technology Academy have been building a Lego “Great Ball Contraption” in a class called “Build It.” The project brings together different Lego modules designed to move marbles through a 20-foot-long continuous loop.
To make the loop work, students adapted instructions from other Lego sets and used gears, lifts, motors and conveyor belts to move the marbles in ways that were both unique and creative. Each team also had to make sure its module connected smoothly with the one before and after it, so the marbles could keep moving without interruption…