SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — Simple ideas are now complicated creations thanks to the effort of students from the Scranton area. Reach Cyber Charter School Students gathered at the Electric City Trolley Museum to build Rube Goldberg machines.

They are inventions designed to complete simple tasks in the most creative way possible. It’s for the online school’s annual winter STEM challenge.

Students from kindergarten through high school worked in teams to design, test, and fine-tune their machines.

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While sharpening engineering and problem-solving skills along the way.

“I’d like them to walk away knowing that it’s okay to mess up, it’s okay to ask for help, it’s okay to improvise, it’s okay to be creative, and it’s okay to like STEM,” Reach Cyber Charter School Robotics Coordinator Karen McGahee said.

Winners from each grade level will be announced next month.

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