This is our Rube Goldberg device, used to compete in the Mission Possible event at the Science Olympiad competition. It's a little bit difficult to see everything, because it needed to be very compact. The purpose of the event is to accomplish some task (in this case, placing steel balls in a cup and putting a lid on it) while using as many different action transfers in as complicated a manner as possible. Points are awarded for transfers that utilize different forms of energy; chemical, electrical, mechanical, etc. The final action must also be completed in as close to 2 minutes as possible; every second shorter or longer results in points being deducted.
I worked with Nathan Ickes (pictured in the Science Bowl picture) to build this machine. Our Mission Possible used 5 different forms of energy, was controlled with a Handiboard, and had over 50 action transfers. At the 1996 national Science Olympiad competition, we completed the task in 2:01, and received first place in the event. Our team placed 3rd overall, the only public school in the top 10.